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THE LIFE 



OF 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, 



THE PEOPLE'S CANDIDATE 



fou 



THE PRESIDENCY. 



PHILADELPHIA. 
1840. 



THE LIFE 



OF 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON, 



THE PEOPLE'S CANDIDATE 



FOR 




THE PRESIDENCY. 



e.l< 



<,So 



PHILADELPHIA. 



1840. 



■> ^ 



■ 7~i zz 



Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1840, by W. Marshall & 
Co. in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania 



C.Sherman <L Co. Printers, 

19 St. James Street. 



TO THE 



PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES. 



The recent nomination of William Henry Harrison for the 
Presidency, by one of the most numerous, dignified, patriotic, 
and influential conventions ever assembled on such an occasion, 
has united the various elements of opposition to the present un- 
principled and corrupt administration, as promptly and unani- 
mously as the best friends of their country could wish. Even those 
who were warmly predisposed in favour of some other individual, 
have, since this nomination, given up their personal predilections, 
with a magnanimity which true patriotism only could have roused, 
and have joined frankly and cordially in support of a candidate, 
through whose well-earned popularity, they hope and confidently 
expect to defeat and shake off this administration, which has so 
long been weighing, like an oppressive incubus, on the best inte- 
rests of the people — an administration which came into power 
when our country was in a state of unexampled prosperity, and 
in a few years of mismanagement and flagitious misrule, has 
shorn it of its welfare, and plunged it into distress and difficulties, 
deeply and grievously felt by every class in the community, and 
daily becoming more burdensome and intolerable to the active 
and industrious part of our population — to the farmer, the me- 
chanic, the merchant, and the tradesman. 

But the people of this country will no longer consent to be held 
in such bondage. Born freemen, they are wearied of being ruled 
with a rod of iron. The selfish, narrow-minded, and ruinous po- 
licy, the notorious corruption, and the glaring misdeeds of the 



present administration, have, at length, roused their just indigna- 
tion, and they are rising, in their majesty, to rebuke their unprin- 
cipled rulers — to teach them, that, though elected to high office, 
they are, in truth, but the servants of the people, chosen to admi- 
nister to the great interests of their country, and not to their own 
private interests, and that they shall not, with impunity, abuse 
the great trust confided to them. As faithless and dishonest ser- 
vants, they are destined to be discharged from the high stations 
they have so unworthily occupied, and the history of their defeat 
and disgrace will prove a timely and salutary warning to all 
iniquitous politicians, who may hereafter be elected to office, 
and who may likewise dare to abuse the confidence reposed in 
them, with the futile hope to escape detection and just punishment 
by falsehood, chicanery, and low cunning. After a long night of 
misrule, a bright and glorious day is once more dawning, and the 
success of the people's cause, to which, with William Henry Har- 
rison as our candidate for the Presidency, we may look forward 
with the fairest promise of certainty, will again restore our go- 
vernment to its republican purity, and our country to its happiest 
days of prosperity. Our farmers and merchants shall no longer 
brood over their fallen fortunes, nor our honest mechanics and 
hardy labourers starve or be driven to desperation, by the want 
of employment — but with the restoration of public confidence in 
our rulers, the tide of success will again flow in upon our active 
population, and the busy hum of smiling and prospering industry 
will again be heard where now all is silent, save the heart-rend- 
ing cry of poverty and distress. 

To those who know General Harrison and are familiar with 
his past life, nothing need" be said of the many and important 
services he has rendered to his country, nor of his eminent quali- 
fications for the office to which he has been nominated. But the 
retired life he has led since his return from his mission to Co- 
lombia, has, in a measure, withdrawn him from public observa- 
tion ; and has more especially prevented his being properly 
known and appreciated by the younger portion of our community, 
who have but recently arrived at manhood and taken their station 
in the republican ranks of their fellow-citizens. It is true, that, in 
addition to the highly honourable mention made of General Har- 



rison in the history of our country for nearly forty years of our 
national existence, publications have, at different periods, issued 
from the press, giving a detailed narrative of the private life as 
well as of the public services of this patriotic veteran and eminent 
statesman — but these, owing to their volume or the form in which 
they appeared, have necessarily had but a limited circulation. 
We therefore believe it an acceptable service to those who are 
not familiar with the life of William Henry Harrison, to place 
before them the following brief sketch of his biography and public 
services. We think that, when a man has been selected by his 
fellow-citizens as a suitable candidate for any important office in 
their gift, it is no more than common justice to all parties, that 
they should be supplied with some authentic information respect- 
ing his past life. It is right and proper that they should know 
what services he has rendered to his country, what public stations 
he has occupied, and with what skill, fidelity, and uprightness he 
has discharged the duties of those offices with which he has been 
entrusted — in order that furnished with this information, they 
may be enabled to form a fair estimate of his abilities, and of his 
usefulness and integrity in his future career. We therefore offer 
our readers this honest outline of plain facts gathered from the 
most authentic sources. Should any desire more particular in- 
formation, or wish for detailed evidence of the historic truth of 
this outline, we refer them to our public documents and state 
papers connected with the events here recorded, and to every 
impartial history of the wars and negotiations on our north- 
western frontier, from the adoption of the federal constitution till 
the close of the last war. 

1* 



LIFE OF 



WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. 



William Henry Harrison was born in Virginia, on the ninth 
day of February, 1773, at Berkley, on the James River, about 
twenty-five miles below Richmond. His father, Benjamin Har- 
rison, was one of the earliest and most conspicuous patriots of the 
Revolution. He was a very distinguished member of the Conti- 
nental Congress, during the years 1774, 1775, and 1776, and was 
Chairman of the Committee of the whole House when the Decla- 
ration of Independence was finally agreed to, and his signature 
is annexed to that celebrated document. He afterwards ren- 
dered important services to his country, by his energetic and 
judicious measures as governor of his native state, Virginia. 
This eminent patriot died in the year 1791, leaving his son, Wil- 
liam Henry, under the guardianship of his friend, the distin- 
guished financier of our Revolution, Robert Morris. 

Young Harrison was educated at Hampden Sydney College ; 
and, by the advice of his friends, turned his attention to the study 
of medicine. But about the period when he had completed his 
education, soon after the death of his father, the increased and 
barbarous hostilities of the Indians on our north-western borders, 
began to excite a feeling of indignation throughout the whole 
country. In this general excitement our young student partici- 
pated so warmly, that he resolved to relinquish his professional 
pursuits, and join the army destined to the defence of the Ohio 
frontier. The service was then neither popular nor inviting, but 
on the contrary was exceedingly toilsome and fraught with great 
danger and hardships ; and nothing but high courage and ele- 
vated motives, could have induced him to form this resolve at so 
gloomy a period. His determination was warmly opposed, too, 
by his prudent guardian ; but it was cordially approved by one 



8 

whom he thought entitled to even more influence — by General 
Washington, who had been his father's intimate friend, and who 
was, at that time, President of the United States. 

The war in our western country was then assuming a very 
alarming aspect. The Indian tribes, who had been in the ser- 
vice of Great Britain, during our Revolutionary struggle, had not 
yet laid down the tomahawk ; but still persisted in their ruthless 
aggressions, and in the almost daily commission of their savage 
atrocities. From the year 1783, when Great Britain acknow- 
ledged our independence, and war with the mother country 
ceased, up to the year 1791, it was estimated that more than fif- 
teen hundred of our hardy borderers had fallen victims to the 
rifle and scalping knife of their savage foes. Our northwestern 
frontier presented an appalling scene of rapine, conflagration, and 
wanton destruction of life and property. Many of our border 
settlements had been crushed in their infancy, and all had been 
retarded in their growth. Expedition after expedition, fitted out 
to oppose them, had met with the most disheartening losses; and 
finally a gallant army under Brigadier General Harmer, which 
had been sent expressly to chastise these savages, after destroy- 
ing some of their towns, had been signally defeated by them, and 
almost annihilated. Of the few experienced officers who escaped 
from Harmer's defeat, nearly all, worn out with the fatigues of a 
service so harassing, and shrinking from a warfare of so danger- 
ous and barbarous a nature, had resigned their commissions ; and 
a general feeling of dismay began to pervade the whole of our 
exposed frontier. 

Such was the gloomy aspect of affairs, when the ardent and 
generous patriotism of young Harrison prompted him to give up 
the comforts and luxuries that surrounded him at home, and enter 
his country's service in defence of his fellow-citizens. 

In the autumn of the year 1791, he received the commission of 
an ensign in the United States artillery, from the hands of Gene- 
ral Washington, whose warm approval had greatly cheered him 
in his design. He hastened immediately to join his regiment, 
which was then stationed at Fort Washington, and arrived at 
that post a few days after the unfortunate defeat of General St. 
Clair, near the Miami villages, by the confederated Indians under 



the command of Meshecunnaqua, the Little Turtle, a celebrated 
Miami warrior, and Buckongelas, head chief of the Delawares. 
This disastrous defeat, in which St. Clair's army was destroyed, 
with the loss of nearly a thousand men, killed or taken prisoners, 
left the whole of our northwestern frontier exposed to the ravages 
of a merciless enemy, and added greatly to the general consterna- 
tion before existing. 

In this state of things, our government saw the necessity of 
adopting immediate and efficient means to put an end to this 
savage conflict. Another army was promptly raised, and the 
command given to General Anthony Wayne of Pennsylvania, a 
gallant and skilful officer, who had earned a brilliant reputation 
in the Revolutionary War. The United States Legion, as 
Wayne's army was called in the new organization, assembled at 
Pittsburg, in the summer of 1792 ; and in the ensuing month of 
November, they left that place, and went into winter quarters, at 
Legionville, on the Ohio, 22 miles below Pittsburg. 

About this time, Harrison was promoted to a lieutenancy, 
and shortly after, he joined Wayne's Legion. His fearlessness 
and energy, with his strict attention to discipline, soon attracted 
the notice of his commander-in-chief, himself a bold and daring 
soldier and a rigid disciplinarian, and General Wayne, not long 
after his arrival, selected him as one of his aides-de-camp. 

We have entered thus minutely into this detail, because we 
wish to point out at how early an age, and in what trying times, 
young Harrison was thought worthy of honourable distinction, 
and how soon, too, he attracted the attention and especial notice 
of a man and a soldier like Wayne, whose well-known indepen- 
dence of character was such, that no influence save that of intrin- 
sic merit was ever with him of anv avail, and whose daring and 
almost reckless intrepidity had won him, in our Revolutionary 
War, the singular appellation of" Mad Anthony." 

Lieutenant Harrison acted as aid to General Wayne during the 
whole of the ensuing campaigns; and his bravery and gallant 
conduct throughout were such, that he was repeatedly officially 
noticed in terms of the highest encomium. The war was con- 
ducted by General Wayne with all the cool daring of a veteran 



10 

soldier, and the sagacity of a prudent general — until finally, on 
the 20th of August, 1794, he fought the bloody and desperate 
battle of the Maumee Rapids, in which the confederated Indians, 
with their allies, were totally defeated. Their heavy losses in 
this battle so disheartened the Indians, that, a few months after, 
they entered into negotiations for a treaty of peace, giving 
hostages for their good faith — and thus, with the close of this 
war, were extinguished what may be considered the last embers 
of our revolutionary struggle. In his despatch to the Secretary 
of War, after this decisive victory, Genera! Wayne, in mentioning 
those whose good conduct made them conspicuous on this occa- 
sion, says — " My faithful and gallant aide-de-camp, Lieutenant 
Harrison, rendered the most essential service, by communicating 
my orders in every direction, and by his conduct and bravery 
exciting the troops to press for victory." 

Soon after this battle, Lieutenant Harrison received the com- 
mission of a captain, and was placed in command of Fort Wash- 
ington, which occupied the present site of the city of Cincinnati, 
and was then the most important station on the Western frontier. 
While in command of Fort Washington, he married the daughter 
of John Cleves Symmes, the celebrated founder of the Miami 
settlements, a lady who commands the esteem and respect of all 
who know her. He remained in the army till the close of the 
year 1797, when, as there was no longer an opportunity to serve 
his country in the field, he resigned his commission, to commence 
his career of civil services. He was almost immediately ap- 
pointed secretary, and, ex-officio, lieutenant-governor of the North- 
western Territory ; which then embraced the whole extent of our 
country lying northwest of the Ohio river — thus, by a just award, 
receiving his first civil appointment in that part of our country 
which he had first perilled his life to defend. 

While in this station, he entered so warmly into the interests of 
the people, and his intelligence and the kindness and urbanity of 
his manners rendered him so popular, that, when, in the following 
year, the Northwestern Territory entered the second grade of 
government, according to the system which then prevailed, and 
the inhabitants became entitled to representation in the councils 



11 

of the nation, they almost unanimously elected him their first 
delegate to Congress. Mr. Harrison was, at this time, about 
twenty-six years of age. 

He took his seat in the House of Representatives, at the first 
session of the sixth Congress, in December, 1799. There were 
then in Congress some of the ablest and most enlightened states- 
men, and some of the most eloquent men, our country has ever 
produced. Yet in this severe ordeal, the abilities and manly 
energies of Mr. Harrison soon commanded universal respect. At 
this period, the all-engrossing subject in the West, and one in 
which our whole country had a deep interest, was the sale of our 
public lands. The manner in which these lands had been hitherto 
disposed of, had created great dissatisfaction among the people. 
They had been sold only in large tracts ; the smallest of which 
included, at least, four thousand acres ; and as the minimum price 
was at that time two dollars per acre, a great majority of the 
new settlers were utterly precluded from becoming possessors of 
land by an original purchase from the government. Our hardy 
yeomanry, with limited pecuniary means, were thus entirely shut 
out from all chance of competition with wealthy speculators and 
grasping monopolists, — the poorer emigrants were becoming dis- 
heartened at the chilling prospects before them, and the settlement 
of the new country was greatly retarded. Fully aware of the 
impolicy and injustice of this state of things, and true to the trust 
confided to him, Mr. Harrison's earliest legislative efforts were 
made to overthrow this exclusive and pernicious system. He 
aroused the attention of Congress to the consideration of this 
important subject, and evinced so intimate an acquaintance with 
the facts and business details connected with it, that he was ap- 
pointed chairman of a committee raised to examine into and 
report on the existing mode of disposing of the public lands ; the 
only instance, it is believed, in which that honour has been con- 
ferred on a territorial delegate. After a proper investigation, 
he presented a report, accompanied by a bill, the principal object 
of which was to reduce the size of the tracts of public land offered 
for sale, to such a smaller number of acres as would place them 
within the reach of actual settlers. This masterly report, which 
was the joint production of himself and Mr. Gallatin, together 



12 






with the great ability and eloquence with which he defended his 
bill from the powerful opposition it encountered in the House, 
gained Mr. Harrison a reputation rarely attained by so young a 
statesman. The bill was carried triumphantly in the House, and 
finally, after some amendments, passed the Senate. The result 
was, that the public lands, instead of being offered only in large 
tracts, of which four thousand acres was the smallest size, were 
now to be sold in alternate sections and half sections — the former 
containing 640, and the latter 320 acres each. The point gained 
was of immense importance, since, from the low price of these 
lands, and the small amount of purchase money required to be 
paid, they were now, with the aid of industry, within the reach of 
nearly all the poorer emigrants and actual settlers, who felt a 
natural desire to own the fee simple of their homes, and of the 
lands they subdued from the wilderness. Thousands of the hardy 
and industrious farmers of our Northern and Middle States, and 
many of the poorer planters of the South, availed themselves of 
the fair field which was now opened for emigration and enter- 
prise ; and we may justly consider this happy result, which Mr. 
Harrison was so instrumental in producing, as one of the leading 
causes of the rapid settlement and prosperity of our Western 
country. 

The justice and true policy of reducing the size of the tracts 
of public lands offered for sale having been once admitted, sub- 
sequent legislators have found it not only a politic, but a popu- 
lar measure, and have followed up the principle thus introduced 
by Mr. Harrison, until now our public lands may be bought in 
tracts of but eighty acres each, and at the price of only one 
dollar and twenty-five cents per acre — whereas, but for the first 
blow at the old system struck by Mr. Harrison, and but for the 
wise and just principle first introduced by him, that exclusive 
system might perhaps still have continued— in which case we feel 
assured of being within bounds in asserting that the great valley 
of the Mississippi, the mighty empire of the West, would not, at 
this day, have numbered one half the population, nor boasted a 
moiety of the wealth it now contains. 

In the year 1800, the Northwestern Territory was divided. 
That part of the Old Territory, included within the present 



13 

boundaries of Ohio and Michigan, retained its former name ; and 
the immense extent of country northwest of this, was erected 
into a separate government, and received the name of Indiana. 
Soon after this division had taken place, Mr. Harrison resigned 
his seat in Congress, and was appointed governor of the new 
Territory. This appointment gave great satisfaction to the 
people of Indiana, with whom the patriotic exertions of Mr. 
Harrison had rendered him deservedly popular ; and it was, at 
the same time, the strongest evidence of the confidence, with 
which the General Government relied upon his integrity, pru- 
dence, and capacity for civil government. 

The vast extent of this new Territory included what now con- 
stitutes the States of Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan, and the 
Territories of Wisconsin and Iowa. But the small population it 
then contained was thinly scattered through a vast wilderness, 
and only three white settlements of any note existed within its 
boundaries. One of these was at the seat of government, Vin- 
cennes, a small town originally built by the French, and beauti- 
fully and advantageously situated on the banks of the Wabash ; 
the second, known as Clark's Grant, was at the Falls of the Ohio, 
nearly opposite Louisville, about one hundred miles from Vin- 
cennes ; and the third was the French settlement on the banks of 
the Mississippi, near St. Louis, and more than two hundred miles 
distant from the seat of government. The communication be- 
tween these remote points was, at all times, difficult and toilsome, 
and often attended with great danger. There existed no practi- 
cable roads, and nearly all the intermediate country was occu- 
pied by the Indians, or overrun by their hunting-parties. Most 
of these savage tribes, though professing to be friendly, were rest- 
less and dissatisfied ; and their leading chiefs still nursed a moody 
hope of revenge for the mortifying defeat they had sustained, six 
years before, at the battle of the Maumee Rapids. Artful and 
treacherous, numerous, warlike, and thirsting for plunder, they 
kept this remote frontier in continual excitement and alarm. The 
angry feelings of our hardy borderers were frequently roused by 
some robbery or atrocious aggression committed by the more 
evil-disposed among their savage neighbours, and quarrels often 
ensued, which threatened the peace of the whole community. 

2 



14 

Such was the existing state of things in Indiana Territory, 
when Mr. Harrison was appointed to the administration of its 
government. As governor of a frontier territory so peculiarly 
situated, Mr. Harrison was invested with civil powers of the 
most important nature, as well as with military authority. Be- 
sides the ordinary powers which he held, ex officio, as governor, 
he had the sole power of dividing the district into counties and 
townships, and was appointed the general superintendent of In- 
dian affairs. He had likewise the unusual power of conferring 
on a numerous class of individuals, a legal title to large grants of 
land, on which they before held merely an equitable claim. His 
sole signature was sufficient, without any other formality, to give 
a valid title to these extensive and valuable tracts of land. No 
other formality or publicity was required, and whatever secret 
collusion might have existed between the claimant and the gover- 
nor, the title would still have been unquestionable before any legal 
tribunal. Possessed of this immense power, without check or 
limitation, opportunities were continually before him of accumu- 
lating a princely fortune ; but the scrupulous sense of honour, 
which has always characterized Mr. Harrison, would never per- 
mit him to speculate in lands over which he had any control. 
During the whole of the time that he held this important trust, he 
never availed himself of his peculiar advantages to advance his 
own interests either directly or indirectly ; and it is a fact worthy 
of particular note, that, even to the present time, he has never 
owned a single acre of land, the title to which, originally, ema- 
nated from himself as the representative of the government. No 
shadow of suspicion has ever doubted his honour, his honesty or 
disinterestedness, and not a murmur ever accused him of par- 
tiality, or even of unnecessary delay, in the performance of this 
delicate duty. We allude to this to show, that the integrity of 
Mr. Harrison is well-tried and practical; and that it has always 
shone with the purest lustre when assailed by the strongest tempta- 
tions. 

In 1803, Mr. Jefferson appointed Governor Harrison sole 
" commissioner to enter into any treaties which might be neces- 
sary with any Indian tribes, northwest of the Ohio, and within 
the territory of the United States, on the subject of their bounda- 



15 

ries or lands." By virtue of this authority, in the following year, 
Harrison succeeded in negotiating a treaty with the Sacs and 
Foxes, and besides the amicable relations established with those 
tribes, he obtained the cession of an extensive tract of country, 
ncluding the whole of the valuable region between the river Illi- 
nois and the Mississippi, with a northern boundary, stretching 
rom the head of Fox river to a point on the Wisconsin, thirty- 
six miles above its mouth. Besides this, during the subsequent 
2ourse of his administration, Harrison effected thirteen important 
'realties with the different tribes, on the most advantageous terms ; 
and obtained from them, at various times, the cession of large 
racts of land, amounting, in all, to more than sixty millions of 
icres, and embracing a large portion of the richest region in our 
ountry. 

In their frequent intercourse with Governor Harrison, the In- 
dians had learned to respect his undaunted firmness, and were, at 
he same time, conciliated by his kindness of manner and conside- 
rate forbearance. This, with his intimate knowledge of the Indian 
character, is the true secret of the remarkable success that has 
uniformly attended every treaty he has attempted to negotiate. 

The various and arduous duties of the governor of Indiana, re- 
quired for this office, a man of very superior abilities and quali- 
fications, and of a rare temperament — one possessed of stern in- 
tegrity and prudent moderation, with wisdom in the exercise of 
the extensive powers entrusted to him, accompanied by the most 
unwavering firmness. Such a man Governor Harrison, in the 
long course of his administration, fully proved himself to be. The 
plainest evidence that can be presented to those who are not fa- 
miliar with the history of Indiana, during this eventful period, of 
the peculiar fitness of Governor Harrison for this important sta- 
tion, of the confidence reposed in him, and of the great popularity 
he attained while in the exercise of so delicate a trust, is the un- 
questionable fact, that, for thirteen years, at every successive ex- 
piration of his term of office, he was re-appointed, at the earnest 
solicitation of the people of the Territory, and with the public ex- 
pression of the most flattering approbation on the part of our 
chief Executive. And this too, notwithstanding the entire change 
which had taken place within that time in the ruling politics of 



16 

the country — his first appointment having been made by Mr. 
Adams, his second and third by Mr. Jefferson, and his fourth by 
Mr. Madison. The following extract from the resolution, unani- 
mously passed by the House of Representatives of Indiana, in the : 
year 1809, requesting the re-appointment of Governor Harrison,; 
will show the estimate which a long acquaintance had taught 
them of his worth : — " They (the House of Representatives) can- 
not forbear recommending to, and requesting of, the President', 
and Senate, most earnestly in their own names, and in the names^ 
of their constituents, the re-appointment of their present governor,. 
William Henry Harrison, — because he possesses the good wishes 
and affection of a great majority of his fellow-citizens; — because 
they believe him sincerely attached to the Union, the prosperity 
of the United States, and the administration of its government; — 
because they believe him in a superior degree capable of promot- 
ing the interest of our Territory, from long experience and labo- 
rious attention to its concerns, from his influence over the Indians, 
and wise and disinterested management of that department ; and 
because they have confidence in his virtues, talents, and republic- 
anism." 

If necessary, we might fill a goodly volume with extracts from 
public documents of a similar nature ; but what stronger proof 
than this could we have of the popularity of Governor Harrison, 
and of the entire confidence with which the people relied on his 
experience, his integrity, and his ability as a statesman? 

In 1805, the Territory of Indiana was advanced to the second 
grade of government. The citizens were allowed to elect a 
Territorial House of Assembly, by which ten persons were nomi- 
nated, out of whom the president appointed five as a Legislative 
Council to complete the Territorial Legislature. This measure 
deprived Governor Harrison of much power and great patronage, 
since it threw into the hands of the people the election of many 
officers who were before appointed by the Executive — but always 
a ready advocate for the republican rights of suffrage and self- 
government, he was true to his principles even when against his 
interest, and he strenuously urged this change of government. 

In the following year, the celebrated Indian Chief of the Shaw- 
nee tribe, Tecumthe, the Crouching Panther, and his notorious 



17 

twin brother, 01-li-wa-chi-oa, the Open Door, (or as some inter- 
y pret it, the Loud Voice), generally known as the Prophet, began 
to create disturbances on the frontiers of Indiana. Tecumthe 
was a bold and skilful warrior, sagacious in council, and formi- 
dable in battle — an active, daring, energetic man, but one who 
preferred tact and secret management to open violence. The 
Prophet was a shrewd impostor; cunning, artful, and treacherous. 
He was no warrior, but an accomplished and persuasive orator, 
who announced himself as a medicine man or magician, possessed 
of vast and miraculous powers, and as having been specially sent 
by the Great Spirit to reform the condition of the red people, and 
to restore them to their former prosperity. 

These crafty intriguers were leagued together by the tie of 
mutual interests and a common hatred to the whites ; and their 
object was to form a general combination of all the North- 
western and Southwestern tribes of Indians, for the purpose of 
preventing the whites from extending any new settlements west 
of those already existing ; and with the vain hope, too, that by a 
simultaneous attack on the whole of our extensive, thinly inha- 
bited, and ill-defended western frontier, they might force back 
the whites from the valley of the Mississippi, and regain a portion 
of their lost hunting-grounds. But the designs of these intriguing 
spirits were soon known to Governor Harrison ; and, aware of 
his dangerous and critical position, his prudent forbearance and 
wise policy enabled him, for several years, to hold his savage 
I neighbours in check. 

In September, 1809, Governor Harrison held a council at Fort 
Wayne, and negotiated a treaty with the Miamies, Delawares, Po- 
tawatomies, and Kickapoos, by which he succeeded in purchasing 
from those tribes an extensive tract of country on both sides of 
the Wabash, and extending up that river more than sixty miles 
above Vincennes. The tribes who owned these lands were paid 
for them by certain annuities which they considered a satisfac- 
tory equivalent. 

Tecumthe was absent when this treaty was made, and the Pro- 
phet not feeling himself interested, had not opposed it ; but on the 
return of Tecumthe, some months after, both he and his brother 
expressed great dissatisfaction, and even threatened to put to 

2* 



18 

death all those chiefs who had signed the treaty. Hearing this, 
and anxious too to ascertain their intentions from themselves if 
possible, Governor Harrison despatched messengers to invite them 
both to Vincennes, and to assure them that any claims they might 
have to these lands were not affected by the treaty ; but that if 
they would come to Vincennes and exhibit their pretensions, and 
they should be found to be valid, the lands would be given up on 
an ample compensation made for them. Tecumthe came, without 
his brother — and though the governor, having no confidence in his? 
good faith, had requested him not to bring with him more than 
thirty warriors, he came with four hundred, completely armed. 
The governor held a council on the 12th of August, 1810, atl 
which Tecumthe and forty of these warriors were present. The 
governor was attended by the judges of the supreme court, 
several officers of the army, Winnemack, a friendly chief, and a 
few unarmed citizens. A sergeant's guard of twelve men was 
likewise placed near him, but as the day was exceedingly sultry, 
and they were exposed to the sun, the governor, with his cha 
racteristic humanity, directed them to remove to a shaded spot at ] 
some distance. 

Tecumthe addressed this council with a speech, in which he 
openly avowed the designs of himself and his brother. He 
declared it to be their intention to form a coalition of all the red 
men, to prevent the whites from extending their settlements 
farther west — and to establish the principle that the Indian lands 
belonged in common to all the tribes, and could not be sold 
without their united consent. He again avowed their intention to 
put to death all the chiefs who had signed the treaty at Fort 
Wayne, yet, with singular inconsistency, he at the same time 
denied all intention to make war, and declared that all those who 
had given such information to the governor were liars. This was 
aimed particularly at Winnemack, from whom the governor had 
received a timely notice of the designs of Tecumthe and his 
brother. 

Governor Harrison replied to Tecumthe in a mild and concilia- 
tory tone, explaining the treaty at Fort Wayne, and clearly 
proving that all the chiefs whose tribes had any claims upon the 
ands ceded at this time to the United States, were present at the 



19 

treaty and had voluntarily signed it — and that they had sold these 
lands for an annuity which they considered a sufficient compen- 
sation. The interpreter to the Shawnees explained the governor's 
speech to the warriors of that tribe, but when the interpreter to 
the Potawatamies was about to begin, Tecumthe interrupted him 
in a rude and insulting manner, using the most vehement language 
and the most violent gesticulation, and loudly declaring that all 
the governor had said was false, and that he and the United 
States had cheated and imposed upon the Indians. As he uttered 
this, his warriors sprung to their feet and began to brandish their 
tomahawks and war-clubs, their eyes all fiercely turned upon the 
governor. Harrison rose immediately and drew his sword. The 
friendly chief Winnemack cocked a pistol with which he was 
armed, and some of the officers in attendance drew their weapons 
and stood on the defensive. During this critical moment not a 
word was spoken, until the guard came running up and were 
about to fire on the Indians, when the governor, with singular 
coolness and presence of mind, restrained them. He then turned 
to Tecumthe and calmly but authoritatively told him that " he 
was a bad man — that he would hold no further talk with him — 
and that he must now return to his camp, and take his departure 
from the settlements without delay." The council was immedi- 
ately broken up and Tecumthe and his warriors, awed by the 
coolness and intrepidity of the governor, withdrew in silence. 

The next morning, Tecumthe, finding that he had to deal with 
a man of firmness and undaunted bravery, whom he could neither 
intimidate by his audacious violence nor disconcert by his cun- 
ning manoeuvres, solicited another interview with the governor, 
and apologized for the improprieties he had committed at the 
council the day before. 

Still anxious to conciliate this haughty savage, the governor 
afterwards paid him a visit at his own camp, with no other 
attendant than the interpreter. Tecumthe received him with 
courtesy and much attention ; his uniform kindness and inflexible 
firmness having won the respect of the rude warrior — but he still 
persisted in rigidly adhering to the policy he had avowed at the 
council on the preceding day. 

Meanwhile his brother was using every exertion to advance 



20 

their mutual object. His reputation as a prophet with his cun- 
ning pretensions to supernatural powers, gave him a strong hold 
on the superstitions of his red brethren, and enabled him to attach 
several of the tribes warmly to his interests. Governor Harrison 
alludes to this in his message to the Legislature of Indiana, in the 
ensuing winter of 1810, from which the following is an extract: 

" Presenting as we do," said Governor Harrison, " a very ex- 
tended frontier to numerous and warlike tribes of the aborigines, 
the slate of our relations with them must always form an impor- 
tant and interesting feature in our local politics. It is with regret 
that I have to inform you, that the harmony and good under- 
standing which it is so much our interest to cultivate with these 
our neighbours, have, for some time past, experienced a conside- 
rable interruption, and that we have indeed been threatened with 
hostilities, by a combination formed under the auspices of a bold 
adventurer, who pretended to act under the immediate inspiration 
of the Deity. His character as a prophet would not, however, 
have given him any very dangerous influence, if he had not 
been assisted by the intrigues and advice of foreign agents, and 
other disajfected persons, who have for years omitted no oppor- 
tunity of counteracting the measures of the government with 
regard to the Indians, and filling their naturally jealous minds 
with suspicions of the justice and integrity of our views towards 
them." 

In the course of this address, the whole of which we regret 
that our limits will not permit us to give, Governor Harrison 
alludes to some idle complaints and malicious calumnies, which 
had been spread abroad by certain disaffected persons within the 
Territory — the totally unfounded nature of which was soon made 
apparent in a court of justice. There are in every community, 
individuals who are incapable of appreciating or are unwilling to 
admit the existence of disinterested and patriotic motives of 
action — and who, if they are too dull or perverse to compre- 
hend the wise policy and strict justice of any public measure, 
are inclined by the whisperings of their own hearts to attribute 
that measure to the promptings of base or unworthy motives. 
It is not a matter of surprise, therefore, that some such were 
found in the Territory over which Governor Harrison presided. 



21 

Among these was one M'Intosh, who openly asserted that Go- 
vernor Harrison had cheated the Indians in the treaty at Fort 
Wayne, by which the United States had the year before obtained 
so large a cession of lands from the Miamies, Delawares, Pottowa- 
tomies and Kickapoos. As this calumny was industriously cir- 
culated, Governor Harrison thought it due both to his own cha- 
racter and to that of the general government that the charge 
should be fully and judicially investigated while the subject was 
still fresh and the testimony in relation to the treaty at Fort 
Wayne was still within reach. An action for slander was there- 
fore brought against M'Intosh, in the Supreme Court of the Terri- 
tory, and every possible measure was adopted to obtain a fair and 
impartial decision. To insure this, two of the judges left the 
bench during the trial — one being a friend of the governor, and 
the other of the defendant ; leaving the case to be adjudicated by 
the third judge, who had but recently arrived in the Territory 
and was but slightly acquainted with either of the parties. All 
the facts connected with the negotiation of the treaty of Fort 
Wayne were critically inquired into, and the defendant was al- 
lowed every opportunity to examine all the persons engaged in 
the Indian Department, or who were acquainted with the circum- 
stances attendant upon the making of this treaty. But the more 
this subject was inquired into, the more clearly did it manifest 
the strict honour and integrity of Governor Harrison ; until, at 
length, convinced of this, the counsel of M'Intosh abandoned all 
plea of justification, and asked only for a mitigation of damages. 
The jury returned a verdict of four thousand dollars against the 
defendant ; a heavy verdict in a new country, where money is 
always scarce, and damages given by juries in such cases are 
generally very small. A large amount of the defendant's property 
was sold the following year to satisfy this judgment, and was 
bought in by the agent of the governor while he himself was 
absent in command of the army. Two-thirds of this property 
Governor Harrison afterwards returned to M'Intosh, and the re- 
mainder he distributed among the orphan children of some of his 
gallant fellow-citizens who fell in battle during the last war ! Such 
acts need no comment — while magnanimity, disinterestedness, 
and generosity are prized among men, the tongue of praise even 
can scarcely do them justice. 



22 

In the following year, 1811, from petty aggressions, the Indians 
proceeded to more open violence, and acts of decided hostility. 
The war-whoop was again heard yelling within the limits of the 
Territory, and every day brought fresh accounts of the perpetra- 
tion of those ruthless deeds of depredation and murder, which 
always give the first intimation of a savage war. From motives 
of humanity as well as policy, Governor Harrison had always 
endeavoured to avoid a war with the Indians ; but when this 
result became unavoidable, he promptly adopted the most ener- 
getic measures within his limited resources, to place the Territory 
in a posture of defence. At his own earnest request, and at the 
solicitation of the people, the President, soon after, directed him 
to march with an armed force towards the principal place of 
rendezvous of the hostile Indians, the Prophet's town, on the 
Wabash, near the mouth of the Tippecanoe — where this crafty 
impostor had gathered together a body of more than a thousand 
fierce warriors, ready to obey his will. 

Governor Harrison immediately assembled five hundred of the 
militia and volunteers of Indiana. These, with a regiment of 
United States infantry, consisting of three hundred and fifty men, 
commanded by Colonel Boyd, and a small body of volunteers 
from Kentucky, constituted his whole available force — amount- 
ing in all to scarcely nine hundred effective men. As soon as he 
had disciplined these troops, and trained both the regulars and 
militia in the Indian mode of warfare, he took up his line of march 
towards the Prophet's town. 

He left Fort Harrison, on the Wabash, about sixty miles above 
Vincennes, on the 28th of October, 1811. Profiting by his own 
early experience, and the remembered example of his old friend 
and commander, General Wayne, his march through a singularly 
wild country to Tippecanoe, was conducted with so much skill 
and prudence, that he avoided all danger of ambuscade or surprise 
from the savage foe. On the 6th of November, the army arrived 
within five or six miles of the Prophet's town. According to the 
instructions he had received from the President, Governor Harri- 
son immediately sent in a flag of truce, to endeavour to open an 
amicable negotiation with the hostile Indians. To this overture, 
the Prophet returned a pacific but deceitful reply — professing, all 



23 

the while, the most amicable intentions, and agreeing to meet the 
governor the next day in council, with his chiefs, to settle definitely 
the terms of peace. But Harrison knew too well the treachery of 
his artful antagonist, to allow himself to be deceived by his spe- 
cious professions, or lulled into any fancied security. He care- 
fully selected the most eligible and defensible position for his 
encampment, and posted his troops in a hollow square, with his 
cavalry drawn up in the rear of the front line. He then ordered 
his men to lie upon their arms all night, that they might be in 
constant readiness to repel any sudden attack ; and he surround- 
ed the entire camp with a chain of sentinels, placed at such a 
distance as to give timely notice of the approach of the enemy, 
yet not so remote as to prevent their retreat in case they should 
be overpowered by numbers. The officers were likewise ordered 
to sleep with their clothes and accoutrements on, and their arms 
by their sides ; and the governor himself was ready to mount his 
horse at a moment's warning. 

The night passed without any interruption ; and the governor 
and bis aids rose at a quarter before four o'clock, and were sit- 
ting in conversation about the fire. The moon had risen, but 
afforded little light, in consequence of being overshadowed by 
heavy clouds, from which occasionally fell a drizzling rain. At 
this moment the attack commenced. The treacherous Indians had 
stealthily crept up near our sentries, with the intention of rushing 
upon them and killing them before they could give the alarm. But 
fortunately one of the sentries discovered an Indian creeping to- 
wards him through the grass, and fired at him. This was imme- 
diately followed by the Indian yell, and a furious charge upon the 
left flank. So sudden and fierce was this onset, that the guard 
stationed in that quarter gave way, at first, to their savage assail- 
ants ; but, notwithstanding the severe fire, they soon rallied, and 
maintained their ground with desperate valour. The camp- 
fires were immediately extinguished, as their light only served 
to expose our men to the deadly aim of the Indians. Upon 
the first alarm, the governor mounted his horse, and proceeded 
to the point of attack ; and finding the line much weakened 
there, he ordered two companies from the centre and rear line to 






24 

march up to their support. About this time, Colonel Joseph Ha 
milton Daviess, of Kentucky, informed the governor that the In 
dians, concealed behind some trees near the left of the front line 
were severely annoying the troops in that quarter, and requested 
permission to dislodge them. In attempting this hazardous ex* 
ploit, he charged the Indians on foot, but unfortunately the flash 
of his pistol exposed him to the deadly aim of the savages, and hi 
was shot down almost instantly, pierced with three balls, eithe 
of which would have proved fatal — and thus fell one of the most 
gallant and chivalric spirits, and one of the most daring and in- 
trepid officers in the whole army. Colonel Isaac White, of In 
diana, another brave officer, who served as a volunteer under 
Colonel Daviess, likewise fell in this sanguinary charge. A heavy 
fire now commenced upon the right flank, upon a part of the rear 
line, and upon the entire front as well as upon the left flank. Find- 
ing that many of our officers were killed by the severe fire on 
the right flank, and that our men there were warmly pressed, the 
governor led another company to their aid, which enabled them 
to defend their position during the rest of the attack. While the 
governor was leading this company into action, his gallant aid, 
Colonel Owen, of Kentucky, was killed at his side. The battle 
was now maintained in every direction with desperate valcur. 
The Indians advanced and retreated by a rattling noise made 
with deer-hoofs. They fought with great enthusiasm, and seemed 
determined to conquer. Our men maintained the fight with even 
more than their accustomed bravery, and the governor was un- 
wearied in his active exertions. Amid all the din of battle, the 
fierce shouting of our troops, and the fiend-like yellings of the 
savages, his clear and manly voice was heard encouraging and 
supporting his men where they were most severely pressed, and 
cheering them on to victory. He repeatedly, during the engage- 
ment, changed their position to meet the varying attacks of his 
desperate assailants, and in all these evolutions the troops were 
formed and led into action by himself. 

When the day dawned, the left flank, the most assailable part 
of the encampment, was reinforced by four companies drawn 
from the rear and centre ; the right flank was strengthened by 
two companies ; the dragoons were mounted, and, supported by 



25 



them, a simultaneous charge was made upon the enemy on both 
■flanks. And so vigorous and determined was this attack, that 
the enemy gave way on all sides — the Indians on the left flank 
(were driven into a swamp impenetrable to cavalry, while those 
on the right were put to flight with great loss, and this severely- 
icontested victory was at last gained by our gallant troops. 

The Prophet took no active part in this battle, but during the 
whole of the contest, he remained secure on a neighbouring emi- 
mence, chanting a war-song. He had promised his warriors that 
" the Great Spirit would turn the powder of the whites into ashes, 
and charm their bullets, so that they should drop harmless, and 
that the red men should have light, while their enemies were in- 
volved in utter darkness." Soon after the battle commenced, he 
was told that his warriors were falling in great numbers, but he 
'bade them fight on, and they would soon see the fulfilment of his 
predictions. 

Tecumthe was not present at this battle, being on a visit to the 
southern tribes, whom he was endeavouring to unite in his com- 
bination against the United States. 

The battle of Tippecanoe was unquestionably one of the most 
spirited and well-fought actions recorded in the annals of our In- 
dian wars. The numbers and weapons on either side were nearly 
:' equal ; and the Indians, contrary to their usual custom, fought 
hand to hand, and with the most desperate ferocity ; displaying 
a boldness and reckless daring, during the engagement, that can 
only be accounted for by their reliance on the specious promises 
held out to them by the prophet. Every man in this battle en- 
countered his share of danger, but no man was in more personal 
peril than Governor Harrison himself — well known to many of 
the Indians, and the object of their peculiar attack, his fearless 
and unshrinking exposure, makes it seem almost a miracle that 
he should have escaped unwounded. In referring to the coolnes , 
and intrepidity of Governor Harrison, on this occasion, we cannot 
refrain from making the following extracts from a journal pub- 
lished in Keene, New Hampshire, by Adam Walker, a private 
soldier, who fought in this battle, and who could have had no in- 
terested motives for his publication ; — " General Harrison," he 
says, " received a shot through the rim of his hat. In the heat of 






26 

the action, his voice was frequently heard, and easily distinguished 
sivino- his orders in the same calm, cool, and collected manner 
with which we had been used to receive them on drill or paradw 
The confidence of the troops in the General was unlimited." Thl 
same writer, in speaking of Harrison's kindness to the soldiers' 
and his influence over them, remarks : — " He appeared not dis- 
posed to detain any man against his inclination ; being endowed 
by nature with a heart as humane as brave, in his frequent ad' 
dresses to the militia, his eloquence was formed to persuade ; ap 
peals were made to reason as well as feeling, and never were they 
made in vain."' / 

An incident that occurred at this time is worth recording. r i 
night before the battle, a negro man belonging to the camp, whc 
had been missing, was arrested near the Governor's marquee 
under very suspicious circumstances. He was tried by a court- 
martial for desertion to the enemy, and for an attempt to assassi 
nate the Governor. Sufficient evidence was found to convicl 
him, and he was sentenced to death ; yet such were the humane 
feelings of Harrison, that he could not induce himself to sign the 
order for his execution. As the criminal attempt had been made 
against his own life, he felt himself privileged to exercise his bene-< 
volence towards the offender, and the misguided wretch was suf-i 
fered to escape the just punishment of his crime. It would have 
been more in accordance with the principles of strict justice, tc 
have allowed the law to take its own course in this instance — bulj 
the circumstances of the case were very peculiar, and Governor 
Harrison's conduct evinced a magnanimity and humanity of hear), 
rarely equalled. 

The importance of the victory at Tippecanoe cannot be tori, 
highly estimated. It quelled the haughty spirit of the discontented! 
and hostile Indians, and defeated the plan, which they had almost 
matured, of attacking and destroying our scattered border settle- 
ments in detail. Had we lost this battle, our army must have 
been annihilated — the whole extent of our defenceless frontier 
would have been left to the mercy of sanguinary and unsparing 
savages, and the consequent loss of life, and destruction of pro- 
perty would have been almost incalculable. 

President Madison, in his message to Congress, dated Decern- 



27 

)er 18th, 1812, makes the following honourable mention of this 
)attle : — " While it is deeply to be lamented," says the President, 
1 that so many valuable lives have been lost in the action which 
ook place on the 9th ult., Congress will see, with satisfaction, the 
lanntless spirit and fortitude victoriously displayed by every de- 
cription of troops engaged, as well as the collected firmness 
.vhich distinguished their commander, on an occasion requiring 
he utmost exertion of valour and discipline." 

The Legislature of Kentucky, at their ensuing session, on the 
notion of John J. Crittenden, now a distinguished member of the 
L T nited States Senate, expressed their high sense of Governor 
larrison's good conduct on this occasion, by the following com- 
plimentary resolution: — 

" Resolved, That in the late campaign against the Indians, on 
he Wabash, Governor W. H. Harrison has, in the opinion of this 
egislature, behaved like a hero, a patriot, and a general; and 
hat for his cool, deliberate, skilful, and gallant conduct, in the 
ate battle of Tippecanoe, he deserves the warmest thanks of the 
lation." 

This high encomium came from those whose friends and neigh- 
jours had participated in the late campaign, and who were con- 
sequently familiar with all its details, and with the merits of the 
;ommander-in-chief. 

War was declared against Great Britain, in June, 1812. Prior 
.o this event, British agents had, for a long time, been tampering 
vith the discontented Indians within our territory, and had bribed 
hem with presents, and furnished them with firearms, to induce 
hem to renew their hostilities against our country. The crafty 
unci daring Tecumthe, too, was once more in the field. Urged 
m by his savage eloquence, by their own natural love for war and 
plunder, and by the atrocious intrigues of foreign agents, the north- 
western Indians again raised the war-whoop, and commenced 
their barbarous system of warfare. Their cruel murders and de- 
predations became of frequent occurrence, and the wailings of 
bereaved mothers and orphans, and the bitter complaints of those 
who had escaped from the conflagration of their plundered homes, 
excited the commiseration of our hardy borderers, and roused a 



28 

general feeling of indignation. Such was the state of excitement 
in our frontier settlements in the summer of 1812. 



Immediately after the declaration of war, our western govern-^ 
ors promptly adopted every measure in their power, for the 
defence of their respective States and Territories. But conscious 
of the great abilities and experience of Harrison, they placed the 
utmost reliance on his counsels, and looked to him as the leader, 
under whom they might hope for success against the common 
enemy. He aided Governor Edwards in placing the frontier of 
Illinois in a posture of defence, and soon after, was invited by 
Governor Scott of Kentucky, a distinguished revolutionary officer^ 
to a conference in relation to the Kentucky troops, which had 
been raised for the defence of the frontier. He accepted this 
invitation, and met Governor Scott at Frankfort; where he was 
received with the acclamations of the people, and with the high- 
est civil and military honours. These public marks of the high 
estimation in which Harrison was held by the people, were shortly 
after followed by proofs still more flattering of their confidence 
in his patriotism, his abilities, and his military skill. 

Governor Scott had levied an armed force of more than five 
thousand militia and volunteers, commanded by some of the ablest 
men and most experienced officers in the State. Tw^o thousand 
of these troops were ordered for immediate service; and they 
had no sooner learned that they were destined to march to the 
aid of their fellow-countrymen on the frontier, than they at once 
unanimously expressed the most earnest desire to be placed under 
the command of Governor Harrison. This feeling was responded 
to by the wishes of the whole mass of the people throughout the 
State. The laws of Kentucky, however, would not permit any 
other than a citizen, to hold a command in the State militia. In 
this dilemma, Governor Scott consulted with the venerable Shelby, 
(the governor elect), the Hon. Henry Clay, and other distinguished 
citizens of the state, and by their unanimous advice he gave Har- 
rison a brevet commission of major general in the Kentucky 
militia, with express authority to take command of the gallant 
troops, about to march to the frontier. This was a bold and un- 
precedented measure, but one that gave unbounded satisfaction 



29 

o both soldiers and citizens, and one fully warranted by the pe- 
culiar exigencies of the case. These facts speak volumes in 
avour of the remarkable popularity and high military reputation 
which Governor Harrison enjoyed in a population of brave and 
:hivalric people, boasting an unusual proportion of talented and 
distinguished men. 

About this time, the cowardice and imbecility of General Hull, 
tamely surrendered to the British, the important post of Detroit, 
with the gallant force which composed its garrison. This event 
spread consternation, far and wide, through the western country, 
and greatly increased the difficulty and arduous nature of Go- 
vernor Harrison's duties. He immediately, however, organized 
the brave troops under his command, and commenced a course 
of rigid discipline and military training; with the confident hope 
of retrieving the disasters, consequent upon the cowardly surren- 
der of Detroit. 

But his operations were soon interrupted by the receipt of offi- 
cial letters from the War Department, written in ignorance of 
the surrender of Hull and of the proceedings in Kentucky, and 
appointing General Winchester to take command of the forces 
marching to Detroit. Governor Harrison was, at the same time, 
appointed Brigadier General in the service of the United States — 
but he declined to accept this appointment, being desirous that 
the War Department should first be made aware of the arrange- 
ments by which he had received the command of the Kentucky 
troops. Meanwhile, the army had marched to the northwestern 
frontier of Ohio, and Governor Harrison, having relieved Fort 
Wayne, which had been besieged by the enemy, and having de- 
stroyed the Indian towns on the Elkhart and the Wabash, resign- 
ed the command to Winchester, to return to Indiana, and resume 
the duties of his territorial government. 

General Winchester, who had thus taken the chief command, 
was an old revolutionary soldier, and a brave and meritorious offi- 
cer ; but being less known and less distinguished, he was not, like 
Harrison, possessed of the enthusiastic confidence of the army. 
Governor Harrison nevertheless exerted every effort in his power, 
to reconcile the troops to this change. But soon after he left them, 
their displeasure at having been deprived of their favourite com- 

3* 



30 

mander, was not confined to murmurs, but created disaffection 
and almost mutiny. The volunteers especially were loud in their 
complaints and expressions of dissatisfaction at the change of; 
commanders — and the troops were at last induced to continue 
their march, solely by the belief that as soon as the case was 
rightly understood at Washington, the command would be re- 
stored to Governor Harrison. 

This expectation was speedily realized — for no sooner was the 
President made aware of the condition of the army, and of the 
almost unanimous wishes of the western people, than he imme- 
diately appointed Harrison, in place of Winchester, commander- 
in-chief of the Northwestern army. The despatch conveying 
this appointment, overtook him on his way to Indiana, and he 
returned, without delay, to the army, and was reinstated in his 
command. x 

The powers conferred on Harrison, as commander-in-chief of 
the Northwestern army, were of great extent, and he was left 
to exercise them according to his own unrestricted judgment. 
In the despatch containing this appointment, dated September 
17th, ]812, the Secretary of War says: — "You will command 
such means as may be practicable — exercise your own discre- 
tion, and act in all cases according to your own judgment" — thus 
conferring upon him extraordinary and almost unlimited powers. 
We refer to this, merely that we may here notice the remarkable 
fact, that, though vested with unusual powers, General Harrison 
was never known, during the whole of his command, to exercise 
his authority in an unjust or oppressive manner. His measures 
were energetic, but always qualified by his characteristic mode- 
ration and humanity, and by a due regard for the feelings of every 
soldier in his camp. 

This appointment, it should be remembered too, was not ob- 
tained by General Harrison by any party or personal influence, 
but was conferred upon him in compliance with the almost 
unanimous wishes of the western people ; and by a President, 
who, when Secretary of State under Jefferson, had been in con- 
stant correspondence with him in relation to the territorial 
affairs of Indiana, and had thus enjoyed an ample opportunity of 
forming a fair estimate of his abilities and qualifications. 



31 

The duties that devolved on General Harrison, in his new sta- 
tion, were arduous beyond description. The troops under his 
command, though brave, were either volunteers for a limited pe- 
riod of time, or inexperienced and undisciplined recruits; and the 
army was badly equipped, and nearly destitute of baggage and 
military stores. With these inadequate means, and under these 
unfavourable circumstances, he was required to defend an im- 
mense extent of frontier, stretching along the shores of the great 
northern lakes, whose numerous harbours and rivers were easy 
of access to the enemy. In addition to this, the roads leading to 
those points which most required defence, were nearly impassa- 
ble, and lay, for hundreds of miles, through a wilderness swarm- 
ing with hostile Indians, and through gloomy and dangerous 
swamps, where the troops, though little encumbered with baggage, 
could advance but slowly, and with great labour. But under 
all these difficulties, the spirits of the soldiers were sustained by 
the presence and example of their favourite commander — who 
animated them in their fatigues, and cheerfully endured the same 
hardships and privations which they encountered. 

The published accounts of our recent war with the Seminoles 
in Florida, the disastrous details of which have been made but too 
familiar to us, will convey to our readers some idea of the pecu- 
liar dangers and difficulties of this campaign, and of the skill and 
fortitude required to overcome them. In either case, we were 
opposed by the same savage foe, and the country was almost in- 
accessible from the same causes — its unhealthiness at that season 
of the year and its extensive and treacherous swamps, the passes 
through which were known only to the hostile Indians by whom 
they were occupied — with perhaps, in the two cases, but this dif- 
ference only, that the northern Indians are well known to be much 
fiercer and more formidable warriors than their southern bre- 
thren, and that, during the whole of this campaign, they were 
kept constantly supplied, by the British, with more effective arms 
and ammunition. 

Yet, undismayed by these dangers and obstacles, General Har- 
rison, wishing to strike an early blow at the enemy, formed the 
bold and daring design of a winter campaign — hoping, by a rapid 
and unexpected movement, to recapture Detroit, take Maiden, and 



32 

perhaps overrun the greater part of Upper Canada. To lessen the 
difficulty of collecting the necessary supply of provisions and forage, 
and to form the requisite depots, he stationed the several corps of 
his army at three different points. The left wing, consisting prin- 
cipally of Kentuckians, under the command of General Winches- 
ter, he posted at Fort Defiance — the centre, composed of Ohio 
troops under the command of General Tupper, he stationed at 
Fort McArthur — and the right wing, consisting of the Pennsyl- 
vania and Virginia brigades, was under his own immediate 
command, at Upper Sandusky. After accumulating supplies of 
provisions and military stores at these several points, the army 
was to take up the line of march by three different routes. The 
left wing was to descend the river from Fort Defiance, the centre 
to advance along Hull's Trace, the right wing was to cross the 
Black Swamp by a difficult and dangerous route, and the three 
corps were to meet and concentrate the entire forces of the army 
at the Rapids of the Maumee, near Wayne's old battle ground. 

Having made all these arrangements, the general used every 
effort to hasten the necessary supplies, and meanwhile kept the 
troops constantly and laboriously employed in building forts, 
forming depots, and cutting roads to facilitate his future ope- 
rations. 

The centre and right wing of the army, not being far removed 
from our settlements, were able to collect provisions with com- 
parative ease; but the left wing, stationed at a more remote dis- 
tance, found great difficulty in obtaining a sufficient supply even 
for their own immediate subsistence. Under these circumstances, 
and ascertaining that he could procure forage in abundance at the 
Rapids, General Winchester, having received the instructions of 
General Harrison, determined to move his forces down the Mau. 
mee to the appointed place of concentration, without waiting for 
the co-operation of the centre and right wing of the army. He 
accordingly, on the 30th of December, took up his line of march 
for the Rapids. On the same day, a gallant young volunteer from 
Kentucky (Mr. Leslie Combs*), was sent with a despatch to ap- 

• Now General Leslie Combs — a distinguished citizen of Kentucky, and recently 
a conspicuous delegate from that State to the Convention at Harrisburgb. 



33 

prise General Harrison of this movement. On the day after Mr, 
Combs had set out with this despatch, a heavy rain fell, followed 
immediately by a violent snow storm, which continued without 
intermission for nearly three days, and covered the ground to the 
depth of two feet, thus preventing the rain which had first fallen 
from freezing. On foot, and with but a single guide, his way, 
which led partly through a wilderness and partly through the 
Black Swamp, would, under the most favourable circumstances, 
have been toilsome and dangerous. But the unexpected yet una- 
voidable difficulties were such, and the circuit he was compelled 
to make round the morasses so increased the distance (about a 
hundred miles), that this despatch was delayed five days longer 
than had been anticipated. Mr. Combs arrived at his point of 
destination, Fort McArthur, on the 7th of January, worn out and 
exhausted with fatigue and privations — neither he nor his guide 
having tasted food of any kind, for the last three days of their 
journey. General Tupper at once forwarded this despatch to 
General Harrison, who received it on the 12th of January, and 
immediately issued orders for sending on a part of the artillery to 
support General Winchester, and a supply of provisions for his 
troops. 

In the mean time, General Winchester had proceeded down the 
Maumee to the Rapids, where he arrived on the 10th of January, 
and encamped at a strong position on the north side of the river, 
which he fortified. 

The first information General Harrison received of Winches- 
ter's arrival at this place, came, not from that officer himself, but 
through an indirect channel. On the evening of the 16th, an ex- 
press arrived from General Perkins, who then commanded a force 
at Lower Sandusky, informing Harrison that Winchester had 
encamped at the Rapids, and had applied to him for a battalion 
of troops, to aid in a movement that he was meditating against the 
enemy. Alarmed at this intelligence, and dreading disastrous 
consequences, General Harrison instantly despatched reinforce- 
ments to Winchester, and used every effort to forward him a 
supply of provisions and military stores. 

Soon after Winchester had arrived at the Rapids, the inhabitants 
of Frenchtown — a small settlement on the river Raisin, within our 



34 

territory, sent messages to General Winchester urgently entreat- 
ing him to protect them from the large force of British and In- 
dians, assembled at Maiden, only eighteen miles distant from their 
town. By the advice of a council of his officers, Winchester 
determined to comply with their entreaties, and send on a strong 
force for their protection. On the 17th, Colonel Lewis and Colonel 
Allen were detached for this duty, and marched at the head of six 
hundred and sixty men. The next day, they arrived at the river 
Raisin, and finding; that the forces of the enemv were alreadv in 
Frenchtown, they attacked them with great gallantry, and after 
a sharp action, succeeded in dislodging them, and gained posses- 
sion of the place. The engagement commenced at three o'clock, 
and the pursuit continued until dusk, when the enemy were driven 
several miles from the field of action. Flushed with this victory, 
Colonel Lewis determined to maintain his position, and despatched 
an express to General Winchester to apprise him of his intention. 
Winchester, on hearing this intelligence, approved of the deci- 
sion of Colonel Lewis, and knowing his critical situation, has- 
tened to support him with all his force. He arrived and encamped 
at Frenchtown on the 20th — but, unfortunately, for the first time 
during the whole campaign, he omitted to fortify his position; 
and even neglected to station a piquet guard on the road leading 
to Maiden, where the enemy were posted in great strength. The 
whole of the 21st was suffered to pass away without any of these 
necessary precautions having been adopted — and on the following 
morning, the British and Indians from Maiden, having advanced 
unperceived, with their entire force, opened a heavy fire of grape- 
shot upon our troops, from several pieces of artillery, at a dis- 
tance of not more than three hundred yards from the camp. The 
troops under Winchester's immediate command, completely taken 
by surprise and unprotected by any fortification, were soon over- 
powered by numbers, and forced to retreat in confusion. Win- 
chester, and the intrepid Lewis and Allen, made every effort to 
rally the fugitives, but in vain. They fled in disorder across the 
river and to the woods, where the Indians having gained their 
flank and rear, pursued and tomahawked them without mercy, 
General Winchester and some few others were taken prisoners 
and carried to the British camp. 



35 

But a part of Lewis's detachment, who had adopted the pre- 
caution to protect their encampment by pickets, still defended 
their position with great bravery and resolution ; until Proctor, 
the commander of the British force, procured an order from Win- 
chester, commanding them to surrender. As their ammunition 
was nearly expended, and they had no hope of relief, these heroic 
troops, though reluctantly, obeyed this order — but not, however, 
until Proctor had given them an express assurance of protection 
from the exasperated rage and cruelty of the Indians. 

All the prisoners who were able to make the exertion, were 
marched to Maiden ; but those who were severely wounded were 
left behind in the houses at Frenchtown, with the repeated pro- 
mises of Proctor, that they should be protected from the savages, 
and that, the next morning, sleds should be sent to convey them to 
Maiden. But instead of this, they were left wholly unprotected, 
and the next day, in place of the sleds, came a party of infuriated 
Indians, who set fire to the town, burnt the houses, and barbar- 
ously murdered all the prisoners in cold blood ! 

The defeat and massacre at the river Raisin produced a great 
sensation throughout the Western country, and especially in Ken- 
tucky — which State, always foremost in danger, lost some of her 
most valuable citizens and gallant officers in this disastrous affair. 
So serious a calamity necessarily excited much discussion with 
regard to its causes, and as some censure was thrown on those 
who committed no error, and who were not instrumental in caus- 
ing the defeat of Winchester, which proved the defeat of the 
campaign, it is proper that we should proceed to state the mea- 
sures taken by General Harrison to reinforce General Winches- 
ter, and prevent the unfortunate result above related. 

On the evening that General Harrison received, though indi- 
rectly, the intelligence of General Winchester's contemplated 
movement against the enemy, as before stated, he immediately 
despatched an express to the Rapids for information, gave orders 
for a corps of three hundred men to hasten on with the artillery, 
and for escorts to advance, without delay, with the provisions and 
military stores. The next morning he proceeded himself 'to Lower 
Sandusky, at which place he arrived in the night following — hav- 
ing travelled a distance of forty miles, in seven hours and a half, 
over roads requiring such exertion to pass them, that the horse of 



36 

his aid, Major Hakill, fell dead, from fatigue and exhaustion, on 
their arrival at the fort. He found there, that General Perkins had 
prepared to send a battalion to the Rapids, in conformity with a 
request from General Winchester. That battalion was despatched 
the next morning, the 18th, with a piece of artillery; but so bad 
were the roads, that it was unable, by its utmost exertions, to 
reach the river Raisin, a distance of seventy-five miles, before 
the fatal disaster. 

General Harrison then determined to proceed to the Rapids- 
himself, to learn personally from General Winchester his situa- 
tion and views. At four o'clock on the morning of the 19th, 
while he still remained at Lower Sandusky, he received the in- 
formation, that Colonel Lewis had been sent with a detachment, 
to secure the provisions on the river Raisin, and to occupy, with 
the intention of holding possession of the village of Frenchtown. 
There was then but one regiment and a battalion at Lower San- 
dusky — the regiment was immediately put in motion, with orders 
to make forced marches for the Rapids, while General Harrison 
himself immediately proceeded to the same place. On his way, 
he met an express with intelligence of the successful battle, which 
had been fought on the preceding day. 

The anxiety of General Harrison to push forward, and either 
prevent, or remedy any misfortune which might occur, as soon 
as he was apprised of the advance to the river Raisin, was 
manifested by the great personal exertions which he made in this 
instance. He started in a sleigh, with General Perkins, to over- 
take the battalion under Cotgreve, attended only by a single ser- 
vant. As the sleigh went very slowly, from the roughness of the 
road, he took the horse of his servant and pushed on alone. Night 
came upon him in the midst of the swamp, which was so imper- 
fectly frozen, that his horse sank to the saddle-girths at every step. 
He had then no resource but to dismount and lead his horse, 
jumping himself from one sod to another. When almost ex- 
hausted with the cold and fatigue, the General overtook one of 
Cotgreve's men, by whose assistance he was enabled to reach the 
camp of the battalion. 

Very early on the morning of the 20th, General Harrison ar- 
rived at the Rapids, from which place General Winchester had 
gone, on the preceding evening, with all his disposable force, to 



37 

the river Raisin. On the same day, by a forced march, Cot- 
greve's battalion reached the Rapids, and was, without delay, 
hurried on with two pieces of artillery, to the aid of Winchester 
— and on the evening of the 21st, three hundred Kentuckians, 
who had been left behind by Winchester, as a garrison, were 
likewise ordered to march to Frenchtown. The next day intel- 
ligence reached the Rapids of Proctor's attack on Winchester's 
camp, and General Harrison instantly ordered the whole force at 
that station to be pushed on with all possible expedition, and him- 
self hastened forward to the scene of danger. They were soon, 
however, met by fugitives from the field of battle, from whom 
they ascertained the total defeat of Winchester's forces. A 
council was held of general and field officers, by whom it was 
decided that it would be imprudent and useless to advance any 
further. Strong parties were then sent out to protect the fugitives 
from the field of battle and from Frenchtown, and the remainder 
of the troops returned to the Rapids. 

It is thus evident that every thing possible, within the control of 
General Harrison, was done by him to reinforce and aid General 
Winchester in the dangerous position he had assumed. This ex- 
pedition of Winchester, to the river Raisin was highly imprudent, 
since he advanced within eighteen miles of the head-quarters of 
the enemy, whose forces were strong and daily increasing, and 
he, at the same time, removed more than thirty miles from the 
Rapids, the nearest point from which he could possibly have re- 
ceived any assistance. Still the disastrous result that ensued 
would no doubt have been avoided, had he adopted the ordinary 
precautions of fortifying his camp, and stationing videttes to give 
him timely warning of the approach of the enemy. His troops 
could then, at least, have defended themselves until the arrival of 
the reinforcements from the Rapids, when the enemy would have 
been compelled to retreat, or, had they fought, the battle would, 
in all probability, have terminated in our favour. 

After Winchester's defeat, our troops at the Rapids amounted 
to less than nine hundred effective men. General Harrison called 
a council of war, who, supposing that their position would be at- 
tacked by the enemy in overwhelming force, unanimously recom- 
mended that the army should fall back to Portage River, eighteen 

4 



38 

miles distant. The next morning, therefore, our troops abandoned 
the Rapids, and retired to the designated point, which they strongly 
fortified. 

But on the 1st of February, the army, having been reinforced 
by the arrival of General Leftwich, with the Virginia brigade 
and a part of the artillery, augmenting their number to eighteen 
hundred men, again marched to the Rapids. General Harrison, 
still entertaining a hope to accomplish the great objects of the 
campaign, during the winter, continued to exert himself unremit- 
tingly in making preparations. But the elements seemed to con- 
spire against him. Instead of the severe cold and intense frosts, 
that usually prevailed in this northern region, at this season, and 
which would have enabled him to move his forces, military stores, . 
and supplies, with comparative ease and celerity, warm rains 
broke up the roads, and were followed by heavy falls of snow, 
which rendered the march of troops exceedingly fatiguing and 
dangerous, as well as slow, and the conveyance of provisions and 
heavy munitions of war almost impossible. The unavoidable ex- 
posure, too, of the troops to the heavy rains, which kept the en- 
campment almost constantly inundated, the deficiency of proper 
tents to shelter them, and their want even of sufficient food and 
clothing, produced pleurisies and much other severe sickness in 
the camp, and greatly reduced the number of effective men.* 

Under these circumstances, General Harrison was at length 
constrained to abandon, though with much reluctance, all thought 
of the contemplated expedition to Maiden, and he prepared to 
go into winter quarters at the Rapids. He accordingly selected 
a good position on the south side of the river, which he strongly 
fortified, and called Camp Meigs, in honour of the patriotic go- 
vernor of Ohio. Leaving the army at that station, General Har- 
rison proceeded to Cincinnati, to procure reinforcements of men, 
and supplies of provisions and military stores. 

We should here mention, that, while engaged in the various and 

* The General's tent, placed in the centre, happened to be in one of the lowest 
parts of the encampment, and consequently suffered most from the rain ; but, when 
entreated by his officers to change its position, he refused to do so, declaring that it 
was necessary that every military man should be satisfied with the situation which, 
in the course of his duty, fell to bis lot. 



39 

arduous services of this campaign, General Harrison organised 
several distinct expeditions against the Indian towns, to keep the 
hostile savages in check, and protect our extended frontier. One 
of these expeditions, consisting of a detachment of six hundred 
men, under the command of Colonel Campbell, was sent against 
the towns on the Mississineway, from which our scattering set- 
tlements had suffered much annoyance. This enterprise was 
conducted with great skill, and proved signally successful. The 
principal town was attacked in the most gallant manner, and, after 
a desperate action of more than an hour, was carried at the point 
of the bayonet. From the general order issued by Harrison, on 
the return of this expedition, we make the following extract, 
which will convey some idea of the humane and generous feel- 
ings, that have always characterised both his public and private 
conduct. After awarding these gallant troops the high meed of 
praise which their bravery had won, he goes on to say, — " But 
the character of this gallant detachment, exhibiting as it did, per- 
severance, fortitude, and bravery, would, however, be incomplete, 
if, in the midst of victory, they had forgotten the feelings of hu- 
manity. It is with the sincerest pleasure that the General has 
heard, that the most punctual obedience was paid to his orders, 
in not only saving all the women and children, but in sparing all 
the warriors who ceased to resist ; and that even when vigorously 
attacked by the enemy, the claims of mercy prevailed over every 
sense of their own danger, and this heroic band respected the 
lives of their prisoners. Let an account of murdered innocence 
be opened in the records of heaven against our enemies alone. 
The American soldier will follow the example of his government ; 
and the sword of the one will not be raised against the fallen and 
helpless, nor the gold of the other be paid for the scalps of a mas- 
sacred enemy." What a contrast do these noble sentiments pre- 
sent to the atrocious conduct of the British General, Proctor — 
who, at the cruel massacre at Raisin river, and at the Rapids, 
basely permitted unresisting prisoners of war to be unsparingly 
butchered, by his savage and remorseless allies. 

Early in the spring, intelligence was received that the British 
were making extensive preparations, and concentrating a large 
force of regular soldiers, Canadians, and Indians, to besiege Fort 



40 

Meigs. On obtaining this information, General Harrison hastened 
to his camp, and exerted the most strenuous efforts, to prepare 
for this threatened attack of the enemy. His presence cheered 
the troops, and he inspired them with fresh ardour, on the ap- 
proach of the enemy, by an eloquent address, in which he alluded 
modestly, but in the most animating manner, to the neighbouring 
battle-field, where General Wayne had gained the brilliant victory 
of the Maumee Rapids, and where he himself had won the 
brightest of his earlier laurels. 

At this time, the garrison of Fort Meigs was much reduced in 
numbers, and the period for which those who still remained had 
enlisted, was about to expire. General Harrison therefore looked 
with great anxiety for the arrival of the strong reinforcement of 
Kentucky troops, who were approaching with all possible de- 
spatch under General Clay ; but whose march had been greatly 

impeded by the wretched condition of the roads. 

On the morning of the 28th of April, the scouts brought in 

intelligence of the near advance of the enemy. And soon after, 
on that day, the British troops were discovered from ihe fort, 
ascending the river in vessels and boats, while the Indians, in 
strong force, were seen approaching, at the same time, by land. 
The British disembarked and encamped at the old station on the 
Maumee, nearly two miles below Fort Meigs ; and on the night 
after they landed, they commenced the construction of three 
powerful batteries, on the north side of the river, directly opposite 
our camp. 

On the first of May, the batteries of the enemy were com- 
pleted. But to counteract their effect, during the time they had 
been employed in erecting them, our troops had thrown up a 
traverse of earth, twelve feet in height, and running across the 
whole extent of the camp. The construction of this traverse, 
being behind the tents of our camp, had been entirely concealed 
from the British, but as soon as their batteries began to play, these 
tents were struck, and to the disappointment of the enemy, our 
troops were safely withdrawn behind the protection of their new 
fortification. A severe fire was now opened from the British 
works, which was returned, with equal vigour and more effect, 
from the fort. Other batteries were likewise erected by the 



41 

enemy, on the southern side of the river, and a heavy cannonad- 
ing was continued, with scarcely any intermission, for five days. 
In consequence, however, of the skilful dispositions of General 
Harrison, very little loss was suffered on our side. 

At midnight, on the fourth of May, General Harrison received 
the welcome intelligence that General Clay with his forces was 
just above the Rapids, and would arrive at the fort by daybreak 
of the next morning. Immediately on receiving this information, 
General Harrison promptly decided to make a bold and vigorous 
effort to raise the siege, by a simultaneous attack on the enemy's 
batteries on both sides of the river. Preparations were at once 
made for a sortie from the fort, against the British works on the 
right bank, and an officer was despatched to General Clay, direct- 
ing him to land six or eight hundred men, about a mile above the 
fort, on the left bank, with orders to march with great secrecy and 
rapidity to the assault of the batteries in that quarter, to carry 
them by storm, spike the cannon, and let down the carriages, and 
then hasten to their boats and cross over to the camp. The 
sortie from the fort was attended with great success. The 
detachment ordered to this service, consisted of three hundred 
and fifty men, a part of whom were regulars, and the re- 
mainder volunteers and Kentucky militia, under the command 
of Colonel Miller, of the United States army. These brave 
troops attacked a body of British regulars and Indians, of more 
than double their number ; but the impetuosity of their charge 
was irresistible, and after a severe struggle, they drove the enemy 
from the batteries. They spiked the cannon, took a large number 
of prisoners, and having fully accomplished their object, returned 
in triumph to the fort. This sortie was one of the most sangui- 
nary and desperate actions, fought during the whole war — and its 
brilliant success was richly merited, by the intrepid gallantry of 
the brave troops engaged in the enterprise. 

General Clay, after detaching Colonel Dudley with eight hun- 
dred men, to attack the batteries on the left bank, descended the 
river with his troops in boats ; and though endangered by the 
swiftness of the rapids, and strongly opposed by the Indians, he 
overcame every difficulty and fought his way, in safety, to the 
fort. 

4* 



42 

In the meantime Colonel Dudley's detachment had landec 
nearly two miles above the enemy's batteries; but this movemen'j 
was so unlocked for, that the attack proved completely sue, 
cessful. The British were taken by surprise, and the gallani' 
Kentuckians charging unexpectedly upon them, put them to flight! 
and carried their batteries without the loss of a man. But though 
the commencement of this enterprise was so well conducted and 
so singularly fortunate, its result proved far otherwise. When Dud- 
ley attacked the batteries, he threw forward a van-guard, con-i 
sisting of two companies of spies and friendly Indians, under the 
command of Captain Leslie Combs, whose bravery and intrepidity! 
in the former campaign, as well as the intimate knowledge of the' 
country which he then acquired, had obtained him, though very 
young, a command over much older officers. Dudley had di- 
rected Combs to take possession of the woods skirting the swamp.j 
to prevent the approach of the Indians from that quarter; but in 
the hurry and excitement of the moment, he omitted to give him 
any directions to retire to the boats after the storming of the 
batteries. Combs, in compliance with his orders, posted his men 
along the edge of the swamp — a position which they had not long 
occupied, before they were attacked by outlying parties of In- 
dians, who, every moment, increased in numbers. A retreat to 
the boats might still have been effected by the van-guard, with 
very inconsiderable loss, but Combs, thinking it necessary, from 
Dudley's instructions, that he should maintain his position, cheered 
on his men, who, unaided by any reinforcement, bravely resisted 
the Indians for some time. By the sacrifice of this small but 
intrepid body of men, Dudley might even yet have withdrawn the 
remainder of his troops without much additional loss; but on 
hearing the report of the Indian rifles, this gallant and high- 
minded officer, conscious of his omission to give the van-guard 
the necessary orders to retire to their boats, and hoping to bring 
them off in safety, hastened at once to their support, leaving 1 
Major Shelby with but two companies, in charge of the batteries 
he had taken. He attacked the Indians with great vigour, and, 
after a sharp action, succeeded in driving them some distance 
into the swamp. But, meanwhile, the Indians had been continu 
ally crossing over from their main body on the opposite side of 



43 

the river, until their force had increased to overwhelming num- 
bers ; and Dudley, after repeatedly driving them back by the 
impetuous charge of his brave Kentuckians, was at last compelled 
to retreat. He still hoped, however, to make a successful stand 
against the enemy at the batteries ; but on approaching them, he 
found, to his mortification, that they had been retaken by a supe- 
rior force of British troops, to whom, finding themselves entirely 
surrounded by the Indians, the greater part of his men reluctantly 
surrendered themselves. The brave and generous Dudley himself 
paid with his life the penalty of his own neglect and thoughtless- 
ness, being killed in this retreat, as were Captain Kilbreath, the 
second in command to Captain Combs, (who was severely 
wounded) and several other gallant and meritorious officers. 
Even after the surrender of our troops, the Indians still continued 
to tomahawk and scalp them without mercy, in the presence of 
the British commander and his whole army, until the arrival of 
Tecumthe, who less savage than Proctor, instantly put a stop to 
this barbarous massacre. 

About two hundred of the left wing of Dudley's detachment 
escaped to their boats, and succeeded in reaching the fort ; but 
more than an eighth part of all the men and officers engaged in 
this sanguinary contest were killed, and the remainder were taken 
prisoners. Thus ended in signal defeat an enterprise ably plan- 
ned, and conducted for a time with great skill and bravery, and 
which promised such entire success. But it must be evident to 
every one, that had the instructions given to Dudley been obeyed, 
this misfortune could not have occurred, and the day would have 
been one of unclouded success and triumph. 

Foiled by the skilful dispositions of Harrison, and by the battle, 
or rather succession of battles, fought on the fifth, Proctor was 
compelled to abandon the siege of Fort Meigs — and on the eighth 
of. May, he broke up his camp, and retreated in disappointment 
and disgrace. 

Thus terminated the glorious defence of Fort Meigs. Harri- 
son, soon after, left General Clay in command of that important 
post, and, unwearied in his exertions, proceeded to more difficult 
and arduous duties, at other exposed stations. 

The unceasing efforts of the British, and the restless spirit of 



44 

Tecumthe, allowed our troops but little time to recover from 
their severe fatigues. In less than two months after the siege of 
Fort Meigs had been abandoned, the Indians assembled a formi- 
dable body of more than five thousand warriors, under their most 
noted chiefs, and again threatened an attack on that fortress. On 
receiving this intelligence, General Harrison, with a small body 
of regulars, hastened to Fort Meigs, by forced marches, and for- 
tunately arrived there before the enemy. Leaving a reinforce- 
ment with General Clay, he returned without delay to his more i 
active duties. 

During the whole of this interesting campaign, the vigilance 
and the intrepidity of General Harrison, with the bravery of his 
soldiers, enabled him to keep a far superior force of the enemy in 
check, and to protect the wide extent of our exposed frontier. 
Our forts were ably defended, and our troops gallantly repelled 
every attack of the enemy, except in some few instances, where 
they were assailed by an overwhelming force. 

At about the period when the enemy invested Fort Meigs for 
the second time, they made a desperate attack on Fort Stephen- 
son, a temporary depot at Lower Sandusky, which was bravely 
and successfully defended by Major Croghan, of the regular ser- 
vice. We particularly mention this event in the campaign, as a 
noble action worthy of note, and because we wish to advert to 
the illiberal and unjust remarks, wh>ch have been made by some 
of General Harrison's political enemies, in relation to the defence 
of this fort, and the subsequent measures of the commander-in- 
chief. At the date of this attack on Fort Stephenson, the enemy 
had nearly seven thousand men in the field — two thousand of 
whom were British regulars and Canadians, and the remainder 
were warriors of the fiercest Indian tribes. The army under 
General Harrison was greatly inferior in numbers, and it became 
his duty, as a skilful commander, to withdraw his unimportant 
outposts, to avoid risking unnecessarily the loss of a single sol- 
dier, and to enable him, by concentrating his forces, to hold the 
enemy in check, at least, if he should not prove strong enough to 
give him battle. Fort Stephenson was a temporary and unim- 
portant station, and so commanded by the high ground in its 
neighbourhood, as to be utterly indefensible against heavy artil- 



45 

lery — and such, from their command of the lake, the British could 
easily transport to its attack. Fully aware of this, from having 
reconnoitered the ground in person, General Harrison, on learn- 
ing that this slation was about to be assailed, thought it proper 
to withdraw the garrison. He accordingly despatched an order 
to Major Croghan, directing him to abandon Fort Stephenson, 
and repair, if practicable, to head-quarters — which were then 
at Seneca Town, nine miles further up the river. This order 
was not received by Major Croghan until the following day — 
when flying parties of the Indians had become so numerous round 
the fort, that, as Croghan himself stated, it was too late to carry 
the order into execution, and he decided on maintaining the place. 
In consequence of this disobedience of orders, Colonel Wells was 
immediately sent, with a strong escort of cavalry, to take com- 
mand of Fort Stephenson, and Croghan was ordered to repair 
forthwith to head-quarters. But on his arrival there, he made 
such satisfactory explanations to the commander-in-chief, of the 
situation of the fort, and of his own respectful intentions, that 
General Harrison at once reinstated him in his command. He 
returned to his duties the following morning, and on the same 
day, July 31st, this station was invested by a force of thirteen 
hundred British regulars and Indians. They attacked the fort 
with great vigour, and repeatedly attempted to take it by assault 
— but they were each time defeated, and were at length forced 
to abandon their attempt, and retreat in confusion, having lost, in 
killed and wounded, nearly as many as the entire number of the 
gallant spirits who defended the fort. 

This defence of a position, which General Harrison had or- 
dered to be abandoned, and the fact of his not having immediately 
advanced upon the enemy, were seized upon, with avidity, by the 
ignorant and malicious among his political opponents, who indus- 
triously circulated the falsest statements and most perverted mis- 
representations, in relation to these occurrences. But fortunately, 
the plain truth soon became so well known, that General Harri- 
son's fair fame suffered no injury from these unfounded calumnies. 
So many gallant officers as well as honourable and high-minded 
men bore witness, of their own accord, to the military foresight 
and wisdom of his measures, that no slander which even the 



46 

malice of his calumniators could devise, ever darkened for a mo- 
ment his unsullied reputation. 

We lay before our readers the following short extracts from am 
address to the public, relative to this affair, which was voluntarily 
published by the general, field, and staff-officers, of General Har- 
rison's army. After expressing their " regret and surprise, that 
charges as improper in form as in substance, should have been 
made against General Harrison, during the recent investment oi 
Lower Sandusky," they go on to say : — " He who believes that 
with our disposable force, and under the circumstance which then 
occurred, General Harrison ought to have advanced upon the 
enemy, must be left to correct his opinion in the school of expe- 
rience. 

" On a review of the course then adopted, we are decidedly of 
the opinion, that it was such as was dictated by military wisdom, 
and by a due regard to our circumstances and to the situation of 
the enemy. * * * * And with a ready acquiescence, beyond the 
mere claims of military duty, we are prepared to obey a general, 
whose measures meet our most deliberate approbation, and merit 
that of ! is c< u itiy." 

The chivalrous and noble-spirited Croghan, who was one of 
the signers of the above address, about the same time published 
another paper on this subject, dated from Lower Sandusky, in 
which he savs: — "I have with much regret seen in some of the 
public prints such misrepresentations respecting my refusal to 
evacuate this post, as are calculated not only to injure me in the 
estimation of military men, but also to excite unfavourable im- 
pressions as to the propriety of General Harrison's conduct rela- 
tive to this affair. 

" His character as a military man is loo well established to 
need my approbation or support. But his public service entitles 
him at least to common justice. This affair does not furnish cause 
of reproach. If public opinion has been lately misled respecting 
his late conduct, it will require but a moment's cool, dispassionate 
reflection, to convince them of its propriety. The measures re- 
cently adopted by him, so far from deserving censure, are the clearest 
proofs of his keen penetration and able generalship." 

We have dwelt on this passage in the life of General Harrison, 



47 

homewhat longer than is consistent with the brevity of this sketch ; 
put the political opponents of General Harrison can find so few 
points in his whole life, that afford them the slightest apology for 
isensure, that they have been driven to pervert and misrepresent 
h.n affair of so simple a nature as this, and one that in truth, enti- 
tled him, as the gallant Croghan justly says, to the highest com- 
Itaendation. We have therefore thought it no more than common 
ijustice to him and to our readers, to lay before them this plain 
exposition of facts. The wisest and best actions are often misun- 
derstood or perverted by the ignorant or malicious. We trust 
[iand believe that the former constitute the larger portion, of those 
who have sought to shadow the fair fame of General Harrison ; 
put while mean and sordid spirits exist, envy and detraction will 
'always pursue exalted merit. Even Washington, the Father of 
our Country, was intrigued against and calumniated. 

Disappointed in their hopes of plunder, and dispirited by the 
(numerous defeats they had sustained, the savage allies of the 
British had become discontented; the second siege of Fort Meigs 
had been abandoned, and gradually the enemy entirely withdrew 
from our territory, and concentrated their forces at Maiden, 
their principal stronghold in Upper Canada. It will thus be seen, 
that the skill with which General Harrison had conducted his de- 
fensive operations, the only resource left him in the face of a 
superior foe, had been eminently successful ; and had not only 
protected our widely extended frontier, but had eventually forced 
the enemy to retire, mortified and humbled by defeat, from our 
country. 

The activity and enterprise of General Harrison, did not long 
permit the enemy to rest, after their retreat from our territory. 
He immediately commenced preparations for carrying the war 
into their own country, and formed his plan for the capture of 
Maiden, and the conquest of Upper Canada. 

During the preceding campaign, in his letters to the War 
Department, General Harrison had repeatedly urged the great 
importance of obtaining command of Lake Erie, and the imme- 
diate necessity for creating a navy for that purpose. In one of his 
communications he remarks — " Should our offensive operations 
be suspended until spring, it is my decided opinion that the 



\ 



48 

cheapest and most effectual plan will be to obtain command of 
Lake Erie. This being once effected, every difficulty will be 
removed. An army of four thousand men landed on the north 
side of the lake, below Maiden, will soon reduce that place, 
re-take Detroit, and, with the aid of the fleet, proceed down the 
lake to co-operate with the army from Niagara." In several 
subsequent letters, he again strenuously urged this plan, until the 
government were at length convinced of the importance of the 
measure, and determined upon its adoption. They now resolved; i 
to proceed vigorously to the forming a fleet on Lake Erie, and 
the gallant Perry was sent to superintend its building, and to take 
the command. No effort of activity or skill was spared to hurry! 
the completion and equipment of the vessels, and early in August, 
Commodore Perry had the satisfaction of finding that he had a 
fleet fitted for sea and ready for action, nearly equal in force 
to that of the enemy. After several ineffectual attempts to bring] 
the British fleet to an engagement, Perry at last had the good 
fortune to meet them, on the 10th of September, and fought that 
celebrated action, in which, with an inferior force, after a severely 
contested battle, he succeeded in gaining a brilliant victory and' 
capturing the entire fleet of the enemy. 

By a happy coincidence, this glorious event occurred just about 
the time when General Harrison had matured his plans for the 
invasion of Canada. On the 27th of September, the troops 
embarked at Sandusky Bay, and advanced towards Maiden, 
expecting to find the British and Indians encamped there in full 
force. But upon landing on the Canada shore, they found that 
Proctor, disheartened by his recent defeats, had abandoned that 
stronghold, after having destroyed the fort and navy-yard, and 
had retreated with his regulars and savage allies to Sandwich. 
Our army encamped at Maiden, having at last driven the enemy 
from their head-quarters, and gained possession of that fortress, 
from which had issued, for years past, those ruthless bands of' 
savages, which had swept over our extended frontier, like the 
wing of the destroying angel, leaving death and destruction only 
in their path. 

Our army advanced rapidly in pursuit of the enemy, and over- 
took them on the 5th of October, at a place which is destined to 



49 

)e remembered, as the battle-ground of one of the most remarka- 
jle and decisive actions fought during the war. 

General Proctor, having had his choice of ground, occupied a 
trong position, flanked on the left by the river Thames, and sup- 
Dorted by artillery ; and, on the right, by an extensive swamp, 
running parallel to the river, and occupied by two thousand 
Indians, under the daring Tecumthe. But Proctor committed an 
irretrievable error, in forming his regular soldiers in open order, 
and extending his line, by placing the files at a distance of three 
or four feet from each other- 
General Harrison drew up one division of his infantry in a 
double line reaching from the river to the swamp, opposite 
Proctor's troops, and the other division at right angles to the first, 
with its front extending along the swamp, with the view of pre- 
venting the Indians from turning his left flank and attacking him 
in the rear. Johnson's mounted regiment was placed in front of 
the infantry. 

The American army advanced in order of battle, and when in 
the immediate neighbourhood of the enemy, the reconnoitering 
parties brought in intelligence of the dispositions Proctor had 
made. Harrison, with the rapid decision of an able general, saw 
at once the egregious error of his opponent, and instantly took 
advantage of it. Aware that troops, formed in open order could 
not resist a vigorous charge of cavalry, he immediately ordered 
Colonel Johnson to form his regiment of mounted men, and dash 
through the enemy's line, in close column. The charge was 
rapidly made, and with the most brilliant success. The extended 
and weakened line of the enemy could offer but a feeble resist- 
ance to the charge of these gallant troops, who dashed through 
their ranks, with overwhelming impetuosity, and formed and 
attacked them in the rear. Panic-struck by this bold and unex- 
pected manoeuvre, and at being assailed both in front and rear, 
the British threw down their arms in dismay, and the whole army 
was captured, with the exception of a few, who escaped by an 
early flight with Proctor. The Indians attacked our troops on 
the left, and fought with great fierceness and daring, until their 
renowned chief Tecumthe was slain, when they fled precipitately 
from the contest, after suffering a severe loss. 

5 



50 

This decisive and important battle was thus fought and won, ii 
a space of time almost incredibly short, and with a very trifling 
loss only on our side. All the baggage of the enemy, and then 
valuable military stores, together with the official papers of Proc 
tor, fell into our hands; and several pieces of brass cannon 
which had been taken from the British in our revolutionary 
victories at Saratoga and Yorktown, but which Hull had shame- 
fully surrendered at Detroit, were again captured from oui 
ancient foe. 

The united force of the British regulars and Indians engaged in 
this battle, amounted to more than 2800 — the number of our 
troops was less than 2500 — and these were principally militia 
and volunteers. The venerable Governor Shelby commanded the 
Kentucky volunteers in this battle, and General Cass, our present 
Minister to France, and the heroic Perry, acted as volunteer 
aids to General Harrison. This brilliant victory, following up the 
capture of their fleet on Lake Erie by the gallant Perry, entirely 
destroyed the force of the enemy in Upper Canada, and put an 
end to the war on our northwestern frontier. 

Upon this, as well as former expeditions, General Harrison 
adopted a rule, on all occasions, to favour himself in nothing, but 
to share equally with the common soldiers the fatigues and hard- 
ships of the campaign. A small valise contained all his baggage, 
except his bedding, which consisted of a single blanket only, fas- 
tened over his saddle ; and even this he gave to Colonel Evans, 
a British officer, who was wounded and taken prisoner in this 
battle. Thirty-five British officers, prisoners of war, supped with 
General Harrison, on the night after the battle, and all the fare 
he had it in his power to offer them was fresh beef, plainly roast- 
ed before a camp-fire, without either bread or salt. This had 
been the food of the army during the expedition, and the rations 
of the General were always precisely those of the soldiers. On 
every occasion, indeed, he made it a point to set an example of 
fortitude and patience to his men, and to share with them every 
hardship, difficulty, and danger. Whether encamped or march- 
ing, the whole army was regularly under arms at daybreak ; and 
however severe the weather, he never failed to be present, and 
indeed was generally the first officer on horseback in the whole 
army. 



51 

gj i On receiving the glorious news of the victory of the Thames* 
aiithe thanks of Congress were expressed to General Harrison in 
ithe warmest manner. Among many others, whose grateful feel- 
ings found utterance on this occasion, the Hon. Langdon Cheves 
j observed, on the floor of Congress, that — " The victory of Harrison 
e-was such as would have secured to a Roman general in the best 
days of the Republic, the honours of a triumph." A sentiment 
which was fully responded to in the complimentary notices which 
he received from every part of the union. Simon Snyder, who 
was then Governor of Pennsylvania, and the idol of the demo- 
cracy of that state, said in his message to the Legislature, on this 
occasion, " The blessings of thousands of women and children res- 
cued from the scalding-knife of the ruthless savage of the wilderness, 
and from the still more savage Proctor, rest on Harrison and his 
gallant army" But the feelings that prompted these grateful ex- 
pressions were not confined to those states in the more immediate 
neighbourhood of the seat of war, but were universal throughout 
the country. 

Having entirely defeated the enemy in Upper Canada, General 
Harrison advanced with a part of his army to the Niagara fron- 
tier, and thence to Sackett's Harbour, where he left the troops, 
and proceeded to the seat of government. On his way thither, 
he passed through New York and Philadelphia ; in which cities 
he was received, by the whole population, with the most flattering 
marks of public honour and distinction. After the necessary de- 
lay of a few days at Washington, General Harrison proceeded 
to Ohio, where important duties required his presence. 

In the plan for the ensuing campaign, to the surprise and regret 
of the public, General Harrison was designated for a service, far 
inferior to that which he had a right to expect. Regardless of 
the memorable victories which this gallant and experienced offi- 
cer had won, and unmindful of the various and important services 
which he had rendered to his country, the Secretary of War saw 
fit to assign to him the command of a district, where he would be 
compelled to remain inactive, while others were appointed to 
those more arduous duties, which he had heretofore fulfilled with 
so much honour to himself, and to the nation. As if still unsatis- 
fied with this egregious insult which he had offered to General 
Harrison, the Secretary of War, on the 25th of April, 1814, ap- 



52 

pointed a subordinate officer to a separate command within his ) 
district, and notified him to that effect. On the receipt of this no- 
tification, General Harrison instantly addressed a letter to the j 
secretary, tendering his resignation, with a notification thereof to 
the president. " As soon as Governor Shelby heard of the resig- 
nation of General Harrison, he lost no time in addressing the pre- 
sident in his usual forcible terms, to prevent his acceptance of it ; 
but unfortunately for the public interests, the president was then 
on a visit to Virginia, to which place the letters from General 
Harrison and Governor Shelby were forwarded, and that of the 
latter was not received until after Secretary Armstrong, without 
the 'previous consent of the president, had assumed to himself the 
high prerogative of accepting the resignation. The president ex- 
pressed his great regret that the letter of Governor Shelby had 
not been received earlier, as in that case the valuable services of 
General Harrison would have been preserved to the nation in the 
ensuing campaign."* 

In this resignation, General Harrison evinced the true patriot- 
ism and disinterestedness, which have always marked his conduct. 
He would cheerfully have devoted his services to his country 
even in an appointment inferior to that which should have been 
assigned to him — but he was too high-principled to retain his 
rank, by yielding assent to a measure, which he considered to be 
subversive of military order and discipline ; and though his own 
fortune had been shattered by the neglect of his private affairs, 
for the benefit of the public, yet he scorned to receive the pay 
and emoluments of his office, when he was no longer permitted 
to perform its duties actively and honourably. 

It would be difficult, at this period, to trace out the true mo- 
tives that induced the secretary of war to the unjustifiable course 
he pursued in this affair. But some knowledge of those events of 
the war in which he bore a part, with a little insight into human 
nature, would suggest that the leading causes which prompted 
him, were the envy and jealousy, which a narrow-minded man 
would naturally feel, on contrasting his own feeble efforts, and 
abortive attempts, with the consummate skill, the brilliant victories* 
and the almost uniform successes of another. That he had acted 

• Dawson. 



53 

in an arbitrary and unwarrantable manner, was afterwards clearly 
proved. — And in the investigation which took place in Congress 
in the winter of 1816-17, it became so evident that General Har- 
rison had been treated with great injustice by the war department, 
that a resolution, giving him a gold medal and the thanks of Con- 
gress, was passed, with but one dissenting voice in both houses of 
Congress. 

The leading events in the campaign of 1812-13,— the gallant 
defence of Fort Meigs, and the decisive victory of the Thames, 
are lasting memorials of General Harrison's military genius. Yet, 
for those isolated actions, he deserves far less praise than for the 
skilful operations and the Fabian policy, which led to these and 
other successes. The prudent care and indefatigable exertions, 
by which he provided for his army in a wild and almost impassa- 
ble country — the promptness and unwearied activity, with which 
he met and defeated the schemes of his antagonists — and the ad- 
mirable skill, with which he held in check an enemy far superior 
in numbers, and with a small force, protected an extended line of 
frontier, and guarded the lives and property of thousands of his 
fellow-citizens, betokened a genius of the highest order, with a 
vigorous mind constantly on the alert. 

Soon after his resignation, in the summer of 1814, Mr. Madi- 
son evinced his unabated confidence in the abilities and integrity 
of General Harrison, by appointing him to treat with the Indians, 
in conjunction with his old companions in arms, Governor Shelby 
and General Cass. And in the following year, he was placed at 
the head of another commission, appointed to treat with the north- 
western tribes. The advantageous treaties made in both these 
cases, afforded new instances of the unfailing success, that has 
always attended General Harrison's negotiations with the In- 
dians. 

In 1816, he was elected, by a large majority, a member of the 
House of Representatives in Congress, from Ohio. In this station 
he served, greatly to his own honour, and to the satisfaction of 
his constituents, until 1819 ; when, on the expiration of his term 
of service, he was chosen to the Senate of the State Legislature. 
In 1824, he was elected a Senator of the United States, from 
Ohio. While serving in this high station, he commanded univer- 

5* 



54 

sal respect. His views as a statesman were liberal and extend- 
ed, — his remarkable readiness in debate soon rendered him a 
prominent member, — and the nervous and impassioned eloquence, 
and classical felicity of illustration, with which he enforced his 
arguments, gained him much influence. 

In 1828, he was appointed by Mr. Adams, Envoy Extraordi- 
nary and Minister Plenipotentiary, to the Republic of Colombia. 
He accepted this appointment, and repaired, without delay, to the 
scene of his duties, where he was received with every demon- 
stration of respect. He found this unhappy country in a deplo- 
rable condition — the people ignorant of their rights, and almost 
in a state of anarchy, and Bolivar apparently about to assume 
the despotic power of a military dictator. Shocked at this state 
of things, with the frankness of an old soldier, he wrote his cele- 
brated letter to Bolivar, from which, as we have not space for its 
entire contents, we take the liberty of quoting the following extract. 

" In bestowing the palm of merit," said Genera] Harrison, " the 
world has become wiser than formerly. The successful warrior is 
no longer regarded as entitled to the first place in the temple of fame. 
Talents of this kind have become too common, and too often used 
for mischievous purposes, to be regarded as they once were. In 
this enlightened age, the mere hero of the field, and the successful 
leader of armies, may, for the moment, attract attention. But it 
will be such as is bestowed on the passing meteor, whose blaze is 
no longer remembered, when it is no longer seen. To be esteemed 
eminently great, it is necessary to be eminently good. The quali- 
ties of the hero and the general must be devoted to the advan- 
tage of mankind, before he will be permitted to assume the title 
of their benefactor; and the station which he will hold in their 
regard and affections will depend, not upon the number and 
splendour of his victories, but upon the results and the use he may 
make of the influence he acquires from them." 

We regret that our limits will not permit us to insert the whole 
of this vigorous and beautiful production. But the few passages 
we have quoted, contain a fair specimen of the noble sentiments 
which characterize this letter, and give evidence of the pure 
republican principles, which have ever distinguished this eminent 
statesman. 



55 

General Harrison remained in Colombia but a short time, 
having been recalled by the late administration, soon after it came 
into power. 

Since his return from this mission, he has lived in comparative 
retirement, upon his farm at North Bend, on the Ohio, about fif- 
teen miles below Cincinnati. With the most enticing oppor- 
tunities of accumulating wealth, during his 'long government of 
Indiana, and superintendency of Indian affairs, he acquired none ; 
his honest and scrupulous integrity were proof against the golden 
temptations. His time and best energies were devoted to the 
service of his country, and his own interests were ever with iiim, 
a secondary consideration. He even, when Governor of Indiana, 
greatly diminished the usual emoluments of such an office, by 
refusing to accept any of those fees, whether as Governor or as 
Superintendent of Indian Affairs, which, before his time had been 
customarily paid. For his services as commander of the expe- 
dition to Tippecanoe, he never asked nor received any compensa- 
tion. And subsequently, when in command of our Northwestern 
army, though he lived as frugally and fared as hardly as any of his 
fellow-citizens in the ranks, yet, at his own expense, he purchased 
clothing and necessary comforts for his sick and wounded sol- 
diers, until he not only exhausted his pay as commander-in-chief, 
but seriously encroached too on his own private means. He 
therefore retired without the spoils of office, and with only a 
competency barely sufficient for his support ; but rich in what he 
esteemed of far greater value — in a reputation undimmed by a 
single tarnish, and in the honour and respect of all his fellow- 
citizens. 

We cannot refrain here from alluding to a circumstance, which 
evinces the peculiar delicacy and honour, which have always 
swayed General Harrison in his pecuniary transactions. A few 
years ago, it was ascertained that a large tract of land near Cin- 
cinnati, which had been sold some time before for a mere trifle, 
under an execution against the original proprietor, could not be 
held by the titles derived from the purchasers, on account of some 
irregularity in the proceedings. The legal title was in General 
Harrison and another gentleman, who were the heirs at law. 
This tract of land was exceedingly valuable and would have 



56 

constituted a princely estate for both these heirs, had they chosen 
to insist on their legal rights — or they might have made some 
amicable arrangement with the purchasers, to which they would 
gladly have assented, and have retained at least one half of this 
property, by giving up the remainder. But General Harrison had 
never yet suffered his interest to blind his true sense of justice 
and high-minded honour, nor did he in this instance. On being 
informed of the situation of this property, he obtained the assent 
of his co-heir, and immediately executed deeds in fee simple to 
the purchasers, without claiming any consideration except the 
trifling difference between the actual value of the land when sold 
and the amount paid at the sheriff's sale. There were in this 
tract, too, twelve acres of General Harrison's private property by 
donation from his father-in-law, which had been improperly in- 
cluded in the sale, and which he might have retained both legally 
and equitably — but such was his nice sense of honour and scru- 
pulous regard for the rights of others, that he suffered even these 
twelve acres to be included in the deed given to the purchasers. 
This portion of the land thus relinquished by General Harrison is 
now worth more than one hundred thousand dollars ! 

In person, General Harrison is tall and slender; his features 
are irregular, but bold and strongly marked ; his eyes are dark, 
keen, and penetrating, his forehead is high and expansive, his 
mouth peculiarly denotes firmness and genius, and the expression 
of his countenance is highly indicative of intelligence and bene- 
volence of character. From early manhood he has never had 
the appearance of possessing a robust constitution, but from the 
activity and temperate habits of his past life, few men at his age 
enjoy their moral and physical energies in such remarkable 
vigour. His manners are plain, frank and unassuming, and his 
disposition is cheerful, kind, and generous, almost to a fault. In 
his private intercourse, he is beloved and esteemed by all who 
know him. In the various civil and military offices he has held, 
he has always been moderate and forbearing, yet firm and true 
to his trust. No other commander has ever been more popular 
with our militia, and the true secret'of this cannot be better ex- 
plained than by his own reply, when asked how he had gained 
this influence : " By treating them," said he, " with affection and 



57 

kindness ; by always recollecting that they were my fellow-citi- 
zens, whose feelings I was bound to respect ; and by sharing with 
them, on every occasion, the hardships which they were obliged 
to undergo." 

His suavity of manners, his generosity, and kindness of heart 
invariably won him the warm affections of those who were placed 
under his authority, while his moderation, his disinterestedness 
his scrupulous attention to the public interests, and the wisdom 
with which he exercised the extensive powers entrusted to him, 
commanded the respect and confidence of his fellow-citizens. 

General Harrison is likewise strictly and truly a pious man. 
Though he has always been noted for his particular attention to 
public worship and Christian offices, yet religion with him has not 
been a Sabbath-day garment only, but rather an every-day, fami- 
liar habit — not a mere sense of incumbent duty, but a warm and 
spontaneous feeling, kindled into life in his early youth, and form- 
ing the hope and firm reliance of his manhood and declining 
years. The writer of this biography deems it no betrayal of 
confidence to say that he has more than once, on entering at day- 
break the chamber of General Harrison, found him on his knees 
at his bedside, absorbed in his devotions to his Maker, when he 
could not have supposed that any eye save that of his God was 
resting on him. 

In the republican institutions of our country, birth and parent- 
age are comparatively of very little importance; and no candi- 
date for public favour can found thereon the slightest claim to the 
respect or the support of his fellow-citizens. We have happily 
shaken off the thralling prejudices of the old world, and a title to 
office and honourable distinction is not with us hereditary ; but 
every man must earn his own good name, and his claim on the 
favour of the people by his own good deeds. Yet, aware, as 
every one must be, of the powerful influence of early education, 
it is worthy of remark, as well as gratifying to know, that a can- 
didate for public office, in whom we feel an interest, passed all the 
early years of his life with the brightest examples of virtue con- 
stantly before him ; and under the parental tuition of one of those 
illustrious patriots, whose memory is revered by every true-hearted 
American. It is pleasing to be assured, that his first political senti« 



58 

ments were imbibed in a school of the purest republican princi- 
ples. And when we trace up the career of this individual, from 
the spring-time of his youth, to the summer of his manhood and 
to the early autumn of his years, and see those principles closely 
adhered to throughout, we can scarcely resist the conviction, that 
his future course will be consistent with the past ; and that, with 
matured abilities, he will still be more conspicuous for his repub- 
lican principles, his moderation in office, his firm integrity, and 
his extended and enlightened views as a statesman. Such were 
the early advantages of William Henry Harrison; such has been 
his course thus far through life ; and such is now the bright pro- 
mise, to a realization of which we may safely look forward, should 
the people see fit to place him in office. 

The principles that would govern General Harrison, should he 
be elected to the Presidency, may be known by the following 
extracts from a letter addressed by him to the Hon. Harmar 
Denny, on the 2d of December, 1838. 

"Among the principles proper to be adopted by any Executive 
sincerely desirous to restore the administration to its original 
simplicity and purity, 1 deem the following to be of prominent 
importance. 

"I. To CONFINE HIS SERVICE TO A SINGLE TERM. 

" II. To DISCLAIM ALL RIGHT OF CONTROL OVER THE PUBLIC TREA- 
SURE, with the exception of such part of it as may be appropriated 
hy law to carry on the public services, and that to be applied pre- 
cisely as the laiv may direct, and draicn from the treasury agree- 
ably to the long established forms of that department. 

" III. That he should never attempt to influence the 
elections, either by the people or the state legislatures, nor suffer 
the federal officers under his control to take any other part in them 
than by giving their own votes when they possess the right of voting. 

" IV. That in the exercise of the veto power, he should limit his 
rejection of bills to : 1st. Such as are in his opinion unconstitu- 
tional. 2d. Such as tend to encroach on the rights of the states 
or individuals. 3d. Such as, involving deep interests, may in his 
opinion require more mature deliberation or reference to the will of 
the people to be ascertained at the succeeding elections. 

" V. That he should never suffer the influence of his name to be 
used for purposes of a purely party character. 



59 

" VI. That in removals from office of those who hold their ap- 
pointments during the pleasure of the Executive, the cause of such 
removal should he stated if requested, to the Senate, at the time the 
nomination of a successor is made. 

" And last, but not least in importance, 

" VII. That he should not suffer the Executive department of the 
government to become the source of legislation ; but leave the whole 
business of making laws for the Union to the department to which 
the Constitution has exclusively assigned it, until they have as- 
sumed that perfected shape, where and when alone the opinions of 
the Executive may be heard." 

Our confined limits restrain us from making more extensive 
extracts from this admirable letter — the noble and purely repub- 
lican sentiments of which, together with its plain yet manly and 
vigorous language, forcibly remind us of the invaluable writings 
of our revered Washington. 

The friends of General Harrison found no especial claim on 
his military services. His own sentiments on this subject we have 
already quoted ; and his friends would scorn, as much as he 
would, any attempt to dazzle a single one of his fellow-citizens 
by the glory of his military renown, brilliant though it be. They 
would point rather to his numerous civil services, in the forty 
years he has devoted to his country ; to the various and impor- 
tant offices he has so ably filled — in the territorial governments, 
in the legislature of his own state, and in the House of Repre- 
sentatives and Senate of the United States ; and to the high order 
of abilities displayed in his speeches in Congress, in his public 
acts, and in his voluminous public correspondence. And we here 
take occasion to say, that all his letters and public papers have 
been exclusively written by himself; and that so far from his 
having called in the mental aid of another, to prepare his mes- 
sages and despatches, as some of our distinguished men have 
condescended to do, he has never even employed an amanuensis, 
to perform the manual labour of his correspondence. His ruling 
principles through life, appear to have been, an ardent love for his 
country, and an earnest desire to serve her best interests ; with a 
devotion to the pure republican maxims of the Revolution, always 



60 

unwavering and consistent : unlike the scheming politicians of a 
more modern school, whose own interest is the polar star that j 
guides them, whatever may betide their country. 

The services of General Harrison have always been rendered 
to his country and not to any political faction : nor have his civil 
or military promotions ever been obtained by party arrangements 
or underhand manoeuvres ; but, on the contrary, they were given 
him at the earnest wish and by the spontaneous confidence of hjs 
fellow-citizens. Neither has his present nomination for the Presi- 
dency been made by a discontented faction or political party, but 
by the voluntary choice of a great majority of the people uttered 
by their chosen delegates. And happily, the more his claims to 
the high office for which he has been nominated are canvassed, 
the more acceptable will he become. A veteran soldier who has 
won for his country every battle he has fought, an experienced 
statesman whose integrity has been thoroughly tried and proved, 
a practical republican of the good old school, and an honest man 
— whose attachment to the true interests of the people is unques- 
tionable, and who will rally about him the great mass of honest 
and intelligent citizens, and, with their aid and support, will 
rescue the Constitution, of late so trampled upon by party 
violence and executive usurpation. 

With tried patriotism, with abilities of the highest order, with 
integrity pure as the unsullied snow, and with the truest republi- 
can principles, William Henry Harrison is now before his fellow- 
citizens, as a candidate for the highest office in their gift. In the 
long course of his public life, he has always openly avowed and 
proved himself a staunch advocate of popular rights, and is there- 
fore truly THE CANDIDATE OF THE PEOPLE. He comes 
before them, not with a crowd of pampered and still-grasping 
officials to intrigue and bribe for him, but with the noble frank- 
ness of an honourable and high-minded man, willing and desirous 
to be judged impartially by his fellow-citizens, and ready to abide 
by their honest decision. 



J\ 






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